Isle of Wight population, 2001–2024
Isle of Wight has an estimated population of 141,660 (mid-2024), up 6.6% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Isle of Wight local authority area.
141,660
population, mid-2024
+6.6%
since 2001
+2.0%
last 10 years
2019
peak year (141,764)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 141,660 | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 141,281 | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 140,756 | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 140,885 | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 140,915 | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 141,764 | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 141,665 | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 141,277 | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 139,650 | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 139,316 | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 138,899 | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 138,146 | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 138,632 | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 138,392 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 138,364 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 138,361 | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 138,675 | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 138,289 | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 137,727 | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 137,179 | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 135,891 | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 134,783 | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 133,908 | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 132,925 | — |
Food businesses
Isle of Wight has 98 takeaways, 408 restaurants and cafés and 190 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.24 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 6.9 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Isle of Wight has 80 hairdressers and beauty salons, 90 pubs and bars, 130 licensed restaurants, 75 takeaways on the ONS business register (2025). Compare across the UK.
Rounded to the nearest 5, which is how ONS protects individual businesses from being identified.
Figures are ONS mid-year population estimates for the Isle of Wight local authority area (code E06000046), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Isle of Wight?
141,660, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Isle of Wight local authority area. This page charts the full annual series back to 2001, so the figure sits in its twenty-year context rather than alone.
Is Isle of Wight growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 6.6% since 2001, from 132,925 to 141,660. The peak year in the series so far is 2019. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.