Reading population, 2001–2024
Reading has an estimated population of 182,907 (mid-2024), up 26.4% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Reading local authority area.
182,907
population, mid-2024
+26.4%
since 2001
+10.0%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (182,907)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 182,907 | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 179,863 | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 176,178 | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 173,371 | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 173,879 | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 174,288 | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 174,484 | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 173,047 | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 171,750 | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 169,220 | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 166,300 | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 163,089 | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 159,065 | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 155,339 | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 154,296 | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 152,326 | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 151,460 | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 149,678 | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 148,321 | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 146,940 | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 144,590 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 144,070 | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 143,915 | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 144,684 | — |
Food businesses
Reading has 190 takeaways, 339 restaurants and cafés and 102 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.56 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 10.4 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
Figures are ONS mid-year population estimates for the Reading local authority area (code E06000038), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.