Southampton population, 2001–2024
Southampton has an estimated population of 259,424 (mid-2024), up 18.2% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Southampton local authority area.
259,424
population, mid-2024
+18.2%
since 2001
+7.5%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (259,424)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 259,424 | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 257,387 | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 252,178 | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 247,672 | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 248,679 | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 249,428 | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 250,803 | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 250,492 | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 248,662 | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 244,666 | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 241,230 | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 239,484 | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 238,097 | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 235,870 | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 233,085 | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 230,017 | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 228,447 | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 227,223 | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 226,698 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 226,655 | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 223,589 | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 221,989 | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 220,459 | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 219,539 | — |
Food businesses
Southampton has 223 takeaways, 484 restaurants and cafés and 144 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.46 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 8.6 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Southampton has 160 hairdressers and beauty salons, 95 pubs and bars, 135 licensed restaurants, 185 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 Southampton local authority area (code E06000045), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Southampton?
259,424, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Southampton 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 Southampton growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 18.2% since 2001, from 219,539 to 259,424. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.