Photo: Robin Stott · CC BY-SA 2.0Lewisham is younger than 95% of UK towns: a median age of 35.4
The share of adults who have never married is 53%, against 39% across England’s towns. On the census count, 3% of households live in a detached house. Few places have as many shared households of unrelated adults: 8.2% here, more than in 98% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put Lewisham’s population at 300,764, in 122,610 households.
What the Census says about Lewisham’s people
More born abroad than most towns
36% of residents were born outside the UK, against 41% across London and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (11%) and in Africa (8.4%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
63% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 99% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (14%), African (13%) and Caribbean (11%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Lewisham’s residents are under 35.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 9.5% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A borough of flats
58% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 99% of UK towns. 48% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
A +9% change since 2011: Lewisham grew faster than 56% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Lewisham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 276,900 people in 2011; 301,300 in 2024.
Split by age, the 45 to 64 changed most (+27%) and the 0 to 15 least (−4%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2012 to mid-2013, 5,050 people.
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 98% of UK towns, at 9.5%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%, against 12% across England’s towns. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Lewisham, 35.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
More full-time students than 95% of UK towns: 9%
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
The figure for residents who moved in within the year is 12% in Lewisham and 11% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 82% of UK towns: 2.4 people on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against London and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Households with dependent children make up 31%, against 29% across England’s towns. Here, 30% of households are one person living alone.
Lewisham ranks above 99% of UK towns on households in flats: 58%
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%; Lewisham has 48%. The comparison figure for households in flats is 23% across England’s towns. Households in terraced houses: 26% of the total.
Lewisham ranks above 98% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 36%
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 50%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (11%) and in Africa (8.4%). Fewer residents whose main language is English than in 97% of UK towns: 84%. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 16% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 37%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 37% of Lewisham · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Lewisham has fewer residents with no religion than 75% of UK towns, at 37%. For comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as Christian at 44% in the borough.
32% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 5,122. Fewer unpaid carers than in 96% of UK towns: 7.1%. Married adults and civil partners: 44% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Among adults, 50% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Lewisham, 15%, while 50% hold one at degree level (34%). A levels top the qualifications of 13%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
From a median age of 31 in Central Lewisham North to 39 in Culverley Green
The borough’s 37 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Culverley Green is the oldest area, with 14% aged 65 or over; Central Lewisham North the youngest (median age 31). Families with children are most common in Downham East (41% of households).
Among 40 UK towns of 211,000 to 406,000 people, the 17th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.8 in Tower Hamlets to 41.2 in Bromley. Nearest to Lewisham in age: Coventry (34.9), Greenwich (35.3), Waltham Forest (35.8) and Brent (35.9).
Median age: 2 of the 7 towns around Lewisham are older
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewisham | 300,764 | — | 35.4 | 9.5% | 31% |
| Southwark | 307,076 | 2.9 mi | 33.6 | 8.4% | 25% |
| Greenwich | 288,117 | 4 mi | 35.3 | 10% | 32% |
| Lambeth | 317,108 | 4 mi | 33.6 | 8.6% | 24% |
| Tower Hamlets | 311,072 | 4.5 mi | 30.8 | 5.7% | 27% |
| Bromley | 325,469 | 4.7 mi | 41.2 | 18% | 32% |
| City of London | 7,820 | 5.4 mi | 37.3 | 14% | 8.7% |
| Newham | 351,065 | 6.1 mi | 32.5 | 7.2% | 38% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “London” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in London (or England), summed the same way as Lewisham’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Lewisham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 300,540 people in 2021, against 300,764 in the built-up area.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Lewisham’s residents
What is the population of Lewisham?
The 2021 Census counted 300,764 people in Lewisham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 301,300 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Lewisham?
The median age was 35.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 95% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 9.5% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Lewisham?
37% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 36% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Lewisham?
37% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 7.4% were Muslim and 7.5% didn’t answer.
Is Lewisham good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Downham East (41% of households). Schools are on Lewisham’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.