# Most and least densely populated places in South East (2021)

Portsmouth was the most densely populated of South East’s 64 councils in 2021 (population density 5,156 per km²).

Chichester was the least densely populated (158 per km²). The middle council, Arun, had 746 per km².

Worked out by Open Index from census population counts and the area of each place.

| Rank | Area | Population density |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Portsmouth](https://openindex.co.uk/portsmouth) | 5,156 per km² |
| 2 | [Southampton](https://openindex.co.uk/southampton) | 4,990 per km² |
| 3 | [Slough](https://openindex.co.uk/slough) | 4,871 per km² |
| 4 | [Reading](https://openindex.co.uk/reading) | 4,314 per km² |
| 5 | [Oxford](https://openindex.co.uk/oxford) | 3,554 per km² |
| 6 | [Worthing](https://openindex.co.uk/worthing) | 3,424 per km² |
| 7 | [Brighton and Hove](https://openindex.co.uk/brighton-and-hove) | 3,346 per km² |
| 8 | [Gosport](https://openindex.co.uk/gosport) | 3,230 per km² |
| 9 | [Hastings](https://openindex.co.uk/hastings) | 3,054 per km² |
| 10 | [Crawley](https://openindex.co.uk/crawley) | 2,636 per km² |
| 11 | [Rushmoor](https://openindex.co.uk/rushmoor) | 2,555 per km² |
| 12 | [Epsom and Ewell](https://openindex.co.uk/epsom-and-ewell) | 2,374 per km² |
| 13 | [Eastbourne](https://openindex.co.uk/eastbourne) | 2,303 per km² |
| 14 | [Havant](https://openindex.co.uk/havant) | 2,228 per km² |
| 15 | [Spelthorne](https://openindex.co.uk/spelthorne) | 2,012 per km² |
| 16 | [Eastleigh](https://openindex.co.uk/eastleigh) | 1,712 per km² |
| 17 | [Woking](https://openindex.co.uk/woking) | 1,634 per km² |
| 18 | [Dartford](https://openindex.co.uk/dartford) | 1,605 per km² |
| 19 | [Fareham](https://openindex.co.uk/fareham) | 1,542 per km² |
| 20 | [Adur](https://openindex.co.uk/adur) | 1,534 per km² |
| 21 | [Medway](https://openindex.co.uk/medway) | 1,444 per km² |
| 22 | [Elmbridge](https://openindex.co.uk/elmbridge) | 1,440 per km² |
| 23 | [Thanet](https://openindex.co.uk/thanet) | 1,357 per km² |
| 24 | [Reigate and Banstead](https://openindex.co.uk/reigate-and-banstead) | 1,168 per km² |
| 25 | [Bracknell Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/bracknell-forest) | 1,139 per km² |
| 26 | [Runnymede](https://openindex.co.uk/runnymede) | 1,129 per km² |
| 27 | [Gravesham](https://openindex.co.uk/gravesham) | 1,080 per km² |
| 28 | [Wokingham](https://openindex.co.uk/wokingham) | 992 per km² |
| 29 | [Surrey Heath](https://openindex.co.uk/surrey-heath) | 951 per km² |
| 30 | [Milton Keynes](https://openindex.co.uk/milton-keynes) | 930 per km² |
| 31 | [Windsor and Maidenhead](https://openindex.co.uk/windsor-and-maidenhead) | 774 per km² |
| 32 | [Arun](https://openindex.co.uk/arun) | 746 per km² |
| 33 | [Tonbridge and Malling](https://openindex.co.uk/tonbridge-and-malling) | 551 per km² |
| 34 | [Guildford](https://openindex.co.uk/guildford) | 530 per km² |
| 35 | [Canterbury](https://openindex.co.uk/canterbury) | 510 per km² |
| 36 | [Hart](https://openindex.co.uk/hart) | 462 per km² |
| 37 | [Mid Sussex](https://openindex.co.uk/mid-sussex) | 457 per km² |
| 38 | [Maidstone](https://openindex.co.uk/maidstone) | 447 per km² |
| 39 | [Swale](https://openindex.co.uk/swale) | 406 per km² |
| 40 | [Waverley](https://openindex.co.uk/waverley) | 371 per km² |
| 41 | [Isle of Wight](https://openindex.co.uk/isle-of-wight) | 370 per km² |
| 42 | [Dover](https://openindex.co.uk/dover) | 369 per km² |
| 43 | [Tandridge](https://openindex.co.uk/tandridge) | 354 per km² |
| 44 | [Buckinghamshire](https://openindex.co.uk/buckinghamshire) | 353 per km² |
| 45 | [Tunbridge Wells](https://openindex.co.uk/tunbridge-wells) | 348 per km² |
| 46 | [Lewes](https://openindex.co.uk/lewes) | 342 per km² |
| 47 | [Mole Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/mole-valley) | 338 per km² |
| 48 | [Sevenoaks](https://openindex.co.uk/sevenoaks) | 325 per km² |
| 49 | [Folkestone and Hythe](https://openindex.co.uk/folkestone-and-hythe) | 308 per km² |
| 50 | [Basingstoke and Deane](https://openindex.co.uk/basingstoke-and-deane) | 292 per km² |
| 51 | [Horsham](https://openindex.co.uk/horsham) | 277 per km² |
| 52 | [Cherwell](https://openindex.co.uk/cherwell) | 273 per km² |
| 53 | [East Hampshire](https://openindex.co.uk/east-hampshire) | 244 per km² |
| 54 | [Vale of White Horse](https://openindex.co.uk/vale-of-white-horse) | 240 per km² |
| 55 | [New Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/new-forest) | 234 per km² |
| =56 | [Ashford](https://openindex.co.uk/ashford) | 229 per km² |
| =56 | [West Berkshire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-berkshire) | 229 per km² |
| 58 | [South Oxfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-oxfordshire) | 220 per km² |
| 59 | [Test Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/test-valley) | 208 per km² |
| 60 | [Winchester](https://openindex.co.uk/winchester) | 193 per km² |
| 61 | [Wealden](https://openindex.co.uk/wealden) | 192 per km² |
| 62 | [Rother](https://openindex.co.uk/rother) | 182 per km² |
| 63 | [West Oxfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-oxfordshire) | 160 per km² |
| 64 | [Chichester](https://openindex.co.uk/chichester) | 158 per km² |

Source: Worked out by Open Index from census population counts and the area of each place. Period: 2021. Period: 2021.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [UK](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/england)
- [Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/northern-ireland)
- [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/scotland)
- [Wales](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/wales)
- [North East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/north-east)
- [North West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/north-west)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [East Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/east-midlands)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/west-midlands)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/london)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/population-density)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/population-density)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/south-east.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.10. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/south-east