Manchester population, 2001–2024
Manchester has an estimated population of 589,670 (mid-2024), up 39.4% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Manchester local authority area.
589,670
population, mid-2024
+39.4%
since 2001
+14.4%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (589,670)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 589,670 | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 581,302 | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 569,103 | +3.4% |
| 2021 | 550,630 | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 547,340 | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 545,947 | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 540,675 | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 536,961 | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 533,446 | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 523,321 | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 515,360 | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 510,783 | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 506,869 | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 502,902 | +2.1% |
| 2010 | 492,598 | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 483,784 | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 477,408 | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 470,538 | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 463,749 | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 455,745 | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 444,925 | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 436,727 | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 428,221 | +1.3% |
| 2001 | 422,915 | — |
Food businesses
Manchester has 755 takeaways, 1,965 restaurants and cafés and 450 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.38 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 12.8 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Manchester has 450 hairdressers and beauty salons, 255 pubs and bars, 395 licensed restaurants, 695 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 Manchester local authority area (code E08000003), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Manchester?
589,670, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Manchester 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 Manchester growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 39.4% since 2001, from 422,915 to 589,670. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.