Swale population, 2001–2024
Swale has an estimated population of 158,379 (mid-2024), up 28.6% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Swale local authority area.
158,379
population, mid-2024
+28.6%
since 2001
+12.3%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (158,379)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 158,379 | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 156,180 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 154,508 | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 152,218 | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 150,584 | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 149,753 | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 148,400 | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 146,846 | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 145,184 | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 142,723 | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 140,992 | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 139,135 | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 137,694 | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 136,324 | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 134,980 | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 133,030 | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 131,720 | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 129,721 | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 127,568 | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 126,516 | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 125,890 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 125,348 | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 124,172 | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 123,123 | — |
Food businesses
Swale has 106 takeaways, 248 restaurants and cafés and 139 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.43 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 6.7 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Swale has 65 hairdressers and beauty salons, 80 pubs and bars, 40 licensed restaurants, 85 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 Swale local authority area (code E07000113), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Swale?
158,379, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Swale 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 Swale growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 28.6% since 2001, from 123,123 to 158,379. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.