Merton population, 2001–2024
Merton has an estimated population of 218,539 (mid-2024), up 14.4% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Merton local authority area.
218,539
population, mid-2024
+14.4%
since 2001
+3.6%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (218,539)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 218,539 | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 217,135 | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 215,105 | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 215,426 | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 217,101 | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 217,219 | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 216,171 | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 215,431 | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 215,514 | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 213,791 | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 211,025 | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 208,529 | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 205,166 | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 200,543 | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 199,136 | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 198,136 | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 195,859 | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 194,260 | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 192,520 | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 190,583 | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 188,908 | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 189,298 | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 190,561 | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 191,106 | — |
Food businesses
Merton has 105 takeaways, 613 restaurants and cafés and 54 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.17 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 4.8 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Merton has 180 hairdressers and beauty salons, 35 pubs and bars, 115 licensed restaurants, 140 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 Merton local authority area (code E09000024), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Merton?
218,539, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Merton 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 Merton growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 14.4% since 2001, from 191,106 to 218,539. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.