Reading population, 2001–2024
Reading has an estimated population of 182,907 (mid-2024), up 26.4% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Reading local authority area.
182,907
population, mid-2024
+26.4%
since 2001
+10.0%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (182,907)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 182,907 | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 179,863 | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 176,178 | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 173,371 | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 173,879 | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 174,288 | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 174,484 | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 173,047 | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 171,750 | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 169,220 | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 166,300 | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 163,089 | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 159,065 | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 155,339 | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 154,296 | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 152,326 | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 151,460 | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 149,678 | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 148,321 | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 146,940 | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 144,590 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 144,070 | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 143,915 | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 144,684 | — |
Food businesses
Reading has 190 takeaways, 339 restaurants and cafés and 102 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.56 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 10.4 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Reading has 130 hairdressers and beauty salons, 35 pubs and bars, 75 licensed restaurants, 120 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 Reading local authority area (code E06000038), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Reading?
182,907, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Reading 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 Reading growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 26.4% since 2001, from 144,684 to 182,907. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.