Lewisham population, 2001–2024
Lewisham has an estimated population of 301,255 (mid-2024), up 18.4% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Lewisham local authority area.
301,255
population, mid-2024
+18.4%
since 2001
+3.5%
last 10 years
2019
peak year (305,906)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 301,255 | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 300,225 | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 299,164 | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 300,013 | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 304,169 | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 305,906 | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 303,127 | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 300,924 | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 298,809 | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 295,364 | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 291,086 | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 286,056 | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 281,011 | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 276,938 | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 272,525 | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 270,418 | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 266,508 | +2.0% |
| 2007 | 261,188 | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 257,976 | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 254,930 | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 252,455 | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 251,936 | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 253,662 | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 254,336 | — |
Food businesses
Lewisham has 378 takeaways, 650 restaurants and cafés and 86 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.58 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 12.5 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Lewisham has 225 hairdressers and beauty salons, 80 pubs and bars, 155 licensed restaurants, 230 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 Lewisham local authority area (code E09000023), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Lewisham?
301,255, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Lewisham 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 Lewisham growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 18.4% since 2001, from 254,336 to 301,255. The peak year in the series so far is 2019. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.