Area type
Unitary Authority
Land area
194 square kilometres
Fertility rate
1.73
Birth rate
12.0
Death rate
8.6
internal migration
-0.2%
international migration
0.0%
View trend
View trend
View trend
The population of Medway is 279,827 according to mid-2021 population figures published by the ONS. Based on recent growth rates we estimate the current 2023 population of Medway to be 282,000. In the year between mid-2020 and mid-2021, the population in Medway grew by an estimated 685 people, and in the ten years prior to mid-2021, the population grew by 11,697. Compare population by area.
Medway's population growth rate between mid-2020 and mid-2021 was 0.2%, which is 0.2% lower than the average population growth rate in Medway for the ten years prior to mid-2021 (0.5%).
Medway covers an area of 194 square kilometres (75 square miles) and has a population density of 1,446 people per square kilometre (km2), based on the latest population estimates taken in mid-2021. That figure has increased by 60 people per km2 over the past decade.
Between mid-2019 and mid-2020, net internal migration out of Medway was 449, and net international migration into Medway was 79.
Medway's fertility rate (the total number of children that would be born to the average woman in Medway if she were to live to the end of her child-bearing years) of 1.73, and birth rate (the number of live births per thousand of population per year) of 12.0, led to population increases of 3,344 during the year, and Medway's death rate or mortality rate (the number of deaths per thousand of population per year) of 8.6 resulted in a 2,391 population decrease. In total, a net 953 person natural increase.
During the past decade, internal migration has fallen from a net inflow of 1,543 in 2011 to a net 449 outflow. International migration has fallen from a net inflow of 148 in 2011 to an inflow of 79 in 2021.
The natural increase in population, due to births and deaths, has fallen from an annual net increase of 1,546 people in 2011 to 953 in 2021.
Births and deaths was the largest driver of population change over the past decade, representing circa 85% of the total change in population.
Medway Salary
Rental Market of Medway
Medway Economy
Medway's population, population density, and population growth rate, over the past decade.
Figures reported by the ONS in 2022.
Year | Population | Growth rate | Population Density |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 279,827 | 0.25% | 1,446 |
| 2020 | 279,142 | 0.21% | 1,442 |
| 2019 | 278,556 | 0.25% | 1,439 |
| 2018 | 277,855 | 0.09% | 1,436 |
| 2017 | 277,616 | 0.24% | 1,434 |
| 2016 | 276,957 | 0.65% | 1,431 |
| 2015 | 275,176 | 0.72% | 1,422 |
| 2014 | 273,212 | 0.93% | 1,412 |
| 2013 | 270,689 | 0.95% | 1,399 |
| 2012 | 268,130 | 1,385 |
Medway's forecast, population density, and population growth rate, over the next twenty years. Figures reported by the ONS in 2018.
The population of Medway is forecast to be 282,630 in 2025 and 285,244 in 2030.
Year | Population | Growth rate | Population Density |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 281,408 | 1,454 | |
| 2024 | 282,049 | 0.23% | 1,457 |
| 2025 | 282,630 | 0.21% | 1,460 |
| 2026 | 283,201 | 0.20% | 1,463 |
| 2027 | 283,750 | 0.19% | 1,466 |
| 2028 | 284,270 | 0.18% | 1,469 |
| 2029 | 284,763 | 0.17% | 1,471 |
| 2030 | 285,244 | 0.17% | 1,474 |
| 2031 | 285,706 | 0.16% | 1,476 |
| 2032 | 286,181 | 0.17% | 1,479 |
Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2022. Data sources: ONS Local statistics