Thanet population, 2001–2024
Thanet has an estimated population of 142,691 (mid-2024), up 12.6% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Thanet local authority area.
142,691
population, mid-2024
+12.6%
since 2001
+2.9%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (142,691)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 142,691 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 141,049 | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 140,699 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 140,658 | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 139,945 | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 140,624 | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 140,848 | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 140,680 | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 140,373 | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 139,668 | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 138,695 | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 136,916 | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 135,730 | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 134,402 | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 133,508 | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 132,337 | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 131,750 | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 130,637 | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 129,601 | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 129,301 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 128,782 | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 128,140 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 127,675 | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 126,750 | — |
Food businesses
Thanet has 167 takeaways, 428 restaurants and cafés and 137 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.39 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 11.7 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Thanet has 85 hairdressers and beauty salons, 95 pubs and bars, 130 licensed restaurants, 115 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 Thanet local authority area (code E07000114), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Thanet?
142,691, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Thanet 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 Thanet growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 12.6% since 2001, from 126,750 to 142,691. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.