Wirral population, 2001–2024
Wirral has an estimated population of 328,873 (mid-2024), up 4.4% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Wirral local authority area.
328,873
population, mid-2024
+4.4%
since 2001
+2.5%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (328,873)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 328,873 | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 325,583 | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 322,674 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 320,631 | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 320,249 | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 320,732 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 320,643 | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 321,020 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 320,914 | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 320,714 | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 320,917 | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 319,965 | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 319,971 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 319,837 | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 319,078 | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 317,771 | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 316,711 | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 315,670 | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 315,350 | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 314,925 | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 315,130 | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 315,371 | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 315,050 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 315,004 | — |
Food businesses
Wirral has 343 takeaways, 585 restaurants and cafés and 220 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.59 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 10.4 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Wirral has 265 hairdressers and beauty salons, 105 pubs and bars, 120 licensed restaurants, 225 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 Wirral local authority area (code E08000015), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Wirral?
328,873, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Wirral 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 Wirral growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 4.4% since 2001, from 315,004 to 328,873. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.