Photo: Robert Lamb · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 97% of UK towns: half of Southwark is under 33.6
In Southwark, 1.8% of households live in a detached house, beside 21% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census put the borough’s population at 307,076, in 130,597 households. 60% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Households without a car or van are more common here than in 99% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Southwark’s people
More born abroad than most towns
41% 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 (12%) and in Africa (11%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
64% 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 (16%), African (16%) and Mixed or multiple (7.2%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Southwark’s residents are under 33.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 14% are 15 to 24 and 8.4% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A borough people move to
16% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
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 growing town: +9% since 2011, faster than 57% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Southwark’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 288,700 people in 2011; 314,800 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2013: 4,790 more people. By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+28%) and the 0 to 15 group least (−8%).
Southwark sits below 99% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (8.4%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 25–29: just over one in ten residents, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24: 14% of the total. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Southwark, 33.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
11% of adults are full-time students, more than in 97% of UK towns
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%.
16% of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
12% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
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.
25% of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns. Few places have as many one-person households: 33% here, more than in 76% of UK towns. For shared households of unrelated adults, the comparison across England’s towns is 4.3%. Each household has 2.3 people on average.
More flats than 99% of UK towns: 78% of households in Southwark
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
With households in terraced houses at 14%, Southwark is behind nearly three quarters of UK towns on that count. Typically, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 41%, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
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
Just over four in five residents have English as their main language (England’s towns: 90%). The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (12%) and in Africa (11%).
A lower White British share than 99% of UK towns: 36% of residents
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: 36% of Southwark · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
9.7% of residents said their religion is Muslim. Against that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Lower than in 84% of UK towns: 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian. Add to that, across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%; Southwark has 36%.
27% 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
Students and young renters account for much of that. Fewer unpaid carers than in 98% of UK towns: 6.5%. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 4,922. 60% of Southwark’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 27% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 55% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Southwark’s adults: 55% with a degree-level qualification and 14% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. The highest qualification of 12% is A levels, often students still at university.
From a median age of 29 in Elephant & Castle to 41 in Herne Hill & Dulwich Park
The borough’s 34 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Herne Hill & Dulwich Park is the oldest area, with 15% aged 65 or over; Elephant & Castle the youngest (median age 29). Families with children are most common in Herne Hill & Dulwich Park (39% of households).
40 UK towns of 215,000 to 415,000 people: this is the 8th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Tower Hamlets is the youngest (30.8); Bromley the oldest (41.2). Nearest to Southwark in age: Barking and Dagenham (33.3), Islington (33.5), Wandsworth (33.6) and Lambeth (33.6).
Of the 7 towns nearest Southwark, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwark | 307,076 | — | 33.6 | 8.4% | 25% |
| Lambeth | 317,108 | 2.4 mi | 33.6 | 8.6% | 24% |
| City of London | 7,820 | 2.8 mi | 37.3 | 14% | 8.7% |
| Lewisham | 300,764 | 2.9 mi | 35.4 | 9.5% | 31% |
| Tower Hamlets | 311,072 | 3 mi | 30.8 | 5.7% | 27% |
| Westminster | 203,571 | 4.7 mi | 35.9 | 12% | 19% |
| Wandsworth | 326,725 | 4.9 mi | 33.6 | 9.5% | 25% |
| Islington | 216,309 | 5 mi | 33.5 | 9.4% | 22% |
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 Southwark’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. Southwark’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 307,623 people in 2021, against 307,076 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 Southwark’s residents
What is the population of Southwark?
The 2021 Census counted 307,076 people in Southwark’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 314,800 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Southwark?
The median age was 33.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 97% of UK towns. 14% of residents were 15 to 24 and 8.4% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Southwark?
36% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 41% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Southwark?
36% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 9.7% were Muslim and 7.3% didn’t answer.
Is Southwark good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Herne Hill & Dulwich Park (39% of households). Schools are on Southwark’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.