Southwark population, 2001–2024
Southwark has an estimated population of 314,786 (mid-2024), up 22.6% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Southwark local authority area.
314,786
population, mid-2024
+22.6%
since 2001
+5.0%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (314,786)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 314,786 | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 313,485 | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 309,327 | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 306,762 | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 312,055 | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 312,591 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 310,492 | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 307,640 | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 306,720 | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 304,048 | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 299,685 | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 297,868 | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 293,078 | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 288,717 | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 283,777 | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 281,120 | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 276,973 | +1.6% |
| 2007 | 272,626 | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 267,553 | +2.2% |
| 2005 | 261,811 | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 257,257 | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 255,242 | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 256,269 | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 256,712 | — |
Food businesses
Southwark has 597 takeaways, 946 restaurants and cafés and 196 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.63 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 19.0 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Southwark has 280 hairdressers and beauty salons, 115 pubs and bars, 290 licensed restaurants, 260 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 Southwark local authority area (code E09000028), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Southwark?
314,786, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Southwark 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 Southwark growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 22.6% since 2001, from 256,712 to 314,786. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.