Kensington and Chelsea population, 2001–2024
Kensington and Chelsea has an estimated population of 144,518 (mid-2024), down 10.9% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Kensington and Chelsea local authority area.
144,518
population, mid-2024
-10.9%
since 2001
-7.5%
last 10 years
2005
peak year (168,375)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 144,518 | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 146,499 | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 146,336 | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 144,266 | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 144,874 | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 146,805 | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 148,471 | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 149,651 | -2.0% |
| 2016 | 152,708 | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 156,149 | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 156,178 | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 156,823 | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 157,240 | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 158,251 | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 160,463 | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 161,893 | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 162,579 | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 162,883 | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 165,245 | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 168,375 | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 165,752 | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 165,268 | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 163,827 | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 162,199 | — |
Food businesses
Kensington and Chelsea has 84 takeaways, 971 restaurants and cafés and 99 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.09 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 5.8 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Kensington and Chelsea has 285 hairdressers and beauty salons, 35 pubs and bars, 275 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 Kensington and Chelsea local authority area (code E09000020), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Kensington and Chelsea?
144,518, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Kensington and Chelsea 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 Kensington and Chelsea growing or shrinking?
Shrinking: down 10.9% since 2001, from 162,199 to 144,518. The peak year in the series so far is 2005. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.