Sefton population, 2001–2024
Sefton has an estimated population of 286,281 (mid-2024), up 1.2% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Sefton local authority area.
286,281
population, mid-2024
+1.2%
since 2001
+4.0%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (286,281)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 286,281 | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 283,720 | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 281,247 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 279,693 | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 278,621 | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 278,908 | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 277,890 | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 276,962 | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 276,707 | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 275,546 | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 275,143 | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 273,814 | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 273,979 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 273,969 | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 273,820 | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 274,153 | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 274,735 | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 275,085 | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 275,852 | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 276,957 | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 278,853 | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 279,913 | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 280,866 | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 282,884 | — |
Food businesses
Sefton has 270 takeaways, 534 restaurants and cafés and 255 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.51 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 9.4 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Sefton has 275 hairdressers and beauty salons, 105 pubs and bars, 130 licensed restaurants, 205 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 Sefton local authority area (code E08000014), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Sefton?
286,281, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Sefton 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 Sefton growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 1.2% since 2001, from 282,884 to 286,281. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.