Waltham Forest population, 2001–2024
Waltham Forest has an estimated population of 279,737 (mid-2024), up 26.0% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Waltham Forest local authority area.
279,737
population, mid-2024
+26.0%
since 2001
+3.4%
last 10 years
2019
peak year (281,015)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 279,737 | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 278,506 | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 275,847 | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 278,147 | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 279,527 | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 281,015 | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 279,795 | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 278,105 | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 277,081 | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 274,579 | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 270,606 | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 267,963 | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 263,575 | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 259,742 | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 254,009 | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 248,140 | +2.5% |
| 2008 | 242,098 | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 235,665 | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 230,731 | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 226,747 | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 225,002 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 224,115 | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 223,776 | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 222,015 | — |
Food businesses
Waltham Forest has 272 takeaways, 603 restaurants and cafés and 89 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.45 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 9.7 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Waltham Forest has 250 hairdressers and beauty salons, 35 pubs and bars, 150 licensed restaurants, 235 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 Waltham Forest local authority area (code E09000031), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Waltham Forest?
279,737, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Waltham Forest 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 Waltham Forest growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 26.0% since 2001, from 222,015 to 279,737. The peak year in the series so far is 2019. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.