# Biggest and smallest places in South East by population (2025)

Buckinghamshire was the most populated of South East’s 64 councils in 2025 (population estimate 584,296).

Adur was the least populated (64,802). The middle council, Tonbridge and Malling, had 137,913.

| Rank | Area | Population estimate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Buckinghamshire](https://openindex.co.uk/buckinghamshire) | 584,296 |
| 2 | [Milton Keynes](https://openindex.co.uk/milton-keynes) | 308,866 |
| 3 | [Medway](https://openindex.co.uk/medway) | 292,697 |
| 4 | [Brighton and Hove](https://openindex.co.uk/brighton-and-hove) | 284,170 |
| 5 | [Southampton](https://openindex.co.uk/southampton) | 259,230 |
| 6 | [Portsmouth](https://openindex.co.uk/portsmouth) | 211,475 |
| 7 | [Basingstoke and Deane](https://openindex.co.uk/basingstoke-and-deane) | 194,037 |
| 8 | [Maidstone](https://openindex.co.uk/maidstone) | 191,415 |
| 9 | [Wokingham](https://openindex.co.uk/wokingham) | 189,024 |
| 10 | [Reading](https://openindex.co.uk/reading) | 183,762 |
| 11 | [New Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/new-forest) | 175,930 |
| 12 | [Arun](https://openindex.co.uk/arun) | 172,326 |
| 13 | [Cherwell](https://openindex.co.uk/cherwell) | 172,178 |
| 14 | [Wealden](https://openindex.co.uk/wealden) | 168,308 |
| 15 | [Slough](https://openindex.co.uk/slough) | 167,450 |
| 16 | [Oxford](https://openindex.co.uk/oxford) | 165,940 |
| 17 | [West Berkshire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-berkshire) | 165,523 |
| 18 | [Mid Sussex](https://openindex.co.uk/mid-sussex) | 163,566 |
| 19 | [Canterbury](https://openindex.co.uk/canterbury) | 162,612 |
| 20 | [Swale](https://openindex.co.uk/swale) | 160,671 |
| 21 | [Windsor and Maidenhead](https://openindex.co.uk/windsor-and-maidenhead) | 159,776 |
| 22 | [Reigate and Banstead](https://openindex.co.uk/reigate-and-banstead) | 159,413 |
| 23 | [South Oxfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-oxfordshire) | 158,084 |
| 24 | [Vale of White Horse](https://openindex.co.uk/vale-of-white-horse) | 152,217 |
| 25 | [Guildford](https://openindex.co.uk/guildford) | 152,148 |
| 26 | [Horsham](https://openindex.co.uk/horsham) | 152,016 |
| 27 | [Eastleigh](https://openindex.co.uk/eastleigh) | 143,710 |
| 28 | [Thanet](https://openindex.co.uk/thanet) | 143,618 |
| 29 | [Ashford](https://openindex.co.uk/ashford) | 142,523 |
| 30 | [Elmbridge](https://openindex.co.uk/elmbridge) | 142,484 |
| 31 | [Isle of Wight](https://openindex.co.uk/isle-of-wight) | 140,777 |
| 32 | [Tonbridge and Malling](https://openindex.co.uk/tonbridge-and-malling) | 137,913 |
| 33 | [Waverley](https://openindex.co.uk/waverley) | 137,218 |
| 34 | [Winchester](https://openindex.co.uk/winchester) | 136,856 |
| 35 | [Test Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/test-valley) | 135,698 |
| 36 | [Bracknell Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/bracknell-forest) | 132,145 |
| 37 | [East Hampshire](https://openindex.co.uk/east-hampshire) | 130,599 |
| 38 | [Chichester](https://openindex.co.uk/chichester) | 130,224 |
| 39 | [Havant](https://openindex.co.uk/havant) | 127,362 |
| 40 | [Dartford](https://openindex.co.uk/dartford) | 126,297 |
| 41 | [Crawley](https://openindex.co.uk/crawley) | 124,462 |
| 42 | [Sevenoaks](https://openindex.co.uk/sevenoaks) | 123,183 |
| 43 | [West Oxfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-oxfordshire) | 121,412 |
| 44 | [Dover](https://openindex.co.uk/dover) | 121,055 |
| 45 | [Tunbridge Wells](https://openindex.co.uk/tunbridge-wells) | 120,098 |
| 46 | [Fareham](https://openindex.co.uk/fareham) | 115,373 |
| 47 | [Worthing](https://openindex.co.uk/worthing) | 113,844 |
| 48 | [Folkestone and Hythe](https://openindex.co.uk/folkestone-and-hythe) | 112,163 |
| 49 | [Gravesham](https://openindex.co.uk/gravesham) | 111,221 |
| 50 | [Spelthorne](https://openindex.co.uk/spelthorne) | 107,188 |
| 51 | [Woking](https://openindex.co.uk/woking) | 106,197 |
| 52 | [Rushmoor](https://openindex.co.uk/rushmoor) | 106,185 |
| 53 | [Eastbourne](https://openindex.co.uk/eastbourne) | 103,894 |
| 54 | [Hart](https://openindex.co.uk/hart) | 103,335 |
| 55 | [Lewes](https://openindex.co.uk/lewes) | 102,648 |
| 56 | [Rother](https://openindex.co.uk/rother) | 96,150 |
| 57 | [Surrey Heath](https://openindex.co.uk/surrey-heath) | 95,094 |
| 58 | [Runnymede](https://openindex.co.uk/runnymede) | 93,013 |
| 59 | [Hastings](https://openindex.co.uk/hastings) | 90,855 |
| 60 | [Tandridge](https://openindex.co.uk/tandridge) | 90,322 |
| 61 | [Mole Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/mole-valley) | 88,808 |
| 62 | [Epsom and Ewell](https://openindex.co.uk/epsom-and-ewell) | 83,370 |
| 63 | [Gosport](https://openindex.co.uk/gosport) | 82,618 |
| 64 | [Adur](https://openindex.co.uk/adur) | 64,802 |

Source: Mid-year population estimates, ONS population estimates. Period: 2025. Period: 2025.

## Other rankings of this measure

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

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

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/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 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/south-east