• The population of East Sussex was estimated to be 555,484 in mid-2023.
  • The number of people has increased by 0.8% since 2022 (England up 1.0%, South East up 1.0%), and by 4.2% since 2013 (England up 5.9%, SE up 7.6%)
  • In the year to June 2023 there was an increase of 4,477 people in East Sussex, this is the highest annual increase in the past 10 years.
  • International net migration continues to rise, and is at the highest level seen in the last decade with 2,923 net arrivals in the year to June 2023 (average international net migration was 694 per year between 2013 and 2023).
  • International net migration is still lower than the number lost to natural change (births minus deaths) of -3,018.
  • Wealden has seen the biggest population increase since 2013 with a rise of 7.8%, the only East Sussex district to have a population increase above the national average (7.0%).
  • Rother has the joint highest population of people aged 85+ in the country (with North Norfolk and New Forest) at 4.9%, one in every 20 people.

Fig. 1: East Sussex population in 2013 and 2023, by age and sex

Population pyramid showing population change between 2013 and 2023, for males (LHS) and females (RHS) for 5 year age groups. The pyramid shows how the population has risen among people born in the two 'baby booms' of the post-war period, the late 1940s/early 1950s, who are now in their 70s, and those born in the mid 1960s, who are now in their 50s. It also shows how there are fewer people in their 40s and fewer young adults aged 15 - 24.

Population in 2022 551,007
+  Natural change       -3,020
+  Net migration from UK +4,500
+  Net international migration +2,920
+ Other change +80
Population in 2023 555,484

Note: rounded numbers do not quite sum to total.

Age Structure

  • East Sussex has a much older age profile compared to England and the South East. A quarter (26.5%) of the county’s population is aged 65 or over (eleventh highest of all counties/UAs in the country), compared to 18.7% in England and 19.8% regionally. On the other hand, only 16.4% of the county is under 16, compared to 18.5% nationally and 18.6% in the South East.
  • At 4.9%, Rother has the joint highest proportion of over 85s of all districts/UAs in the country – the same as North Norfolk and New Forest. Rother has the joint second highest proportion of the very old (90 and over) at 1.9%, joint with New Forest. Isles of Scilly now has the highest proportion of residents aged 90+ at 2.2%. Rother has the second highest proportion of people aged 65 and over (32.5% – behind North Norfolk at 34.2%).
  • Overall, the East Sussex population has grown by 4.2% since 2013. While the population aged 65 and over has increased by 14.0%, older people aged 45-64 have risen by 2.9%, and people aged 30-44 have risen by 5.5%, there have been declines among the 16-29 age group (down 5.6%) and children aged 0-15 (down 0.6%).
  • There were two ‘baby booms’ in the 20th century, one just after World War II and another in the mid-1960s, which can be seen as ‘bulges’ in the population pyramid above. However, population growth in those age groups has been augmented by migration, mainly by people moving to East Sussex from within the UK.
  • The overall number of children under 18 has decreased marginally since 2013 (by 0.6%), and there are considerably fewer young people aged 16-19 in 2023 than there were in 2013 (down 5.9%), with young people aged 16-17 down just 0.1% but those aged 18-19 down by 12.2%. Other groups seeing significant falls in numbers include those in their late 40s (aged 45-49, down 23.5% since 2013), partly as a consequence of the population ‘bulge’ in those age groups ageing on ten years and the next age group being far less numerous.

Population changes

Fig. 2: Components of population change in East Sussex, 2003-2023

A graph that shows the components of change in East Sussex between 2003 and 2023. The light blue bars show internal net migration, while the dark blue bars show the International net migration. Green bars show natural change in the county, and every year since 2003, natural change has been a negative figure so population increases have been due to migration. The line on the chart shows population change year on year in the county, and shows a steep rise from 2020 - 2023.

  • 2023 saw the largest ever loss through natural change (compared to records since 1991) with -3,018.
  • In the year to June 2023, there were 4,331 births (down 4.2% from 2022) and 7,349 deaths (up 6.9% from 2022). The South East and all East Sussex districts also saw a negative natural change in the year to June 2023, in contrast to England where a positive natural change was recorded (higher number of births compared to deaths). However the national natural change was just 400 in the year to mid-2023; the lowest figure since the year to mid-1978.
  • The decline in population due to natural change has been counteracted by levels of internal migration and, to a lesser extent, international migration (see chart above). In 2023 there was a net migration of 4,495 into East Sussex from other parts of the UK and a net migration of 2,923 people into East Sussex from abroad. Net international migration was higher in 2022 than previous years, and continued to rise in 2023.
  • Between 2022 and 2023, the population grew in all districts, and rose the fastest in Eastbourne (up 1.4%). Wealden has seen the fastest growth in the county over the past 10 years, with an increase of 8.4%, while numbers in Hastings have seen a slight decline in population, down 0.2% since 2013. The change in all East Sussex districts since 2013 were smaller than the national and regional figures, The population increase in England in the decade 2013-2023 was 7.0%, and was 7.6% in the South East.

Table 1: Population change between 2013 and 2023

Mid-2013 population Mid-2023 population Absolute change 2013-2023

Percentage change     2013-2023
Eastbourne 100,662 103,796 3,134 3.1%
Hastings 90,994 90,817 -177 -0.2%
Lewes 99,215 101,356 2,141 2.2%
Rother 90,487 94,862 4,375 4.8%
Wealden 151,825 164,653 12,828 8.4%
East Sussex 533,183 555,484 22,301 4.2%
South East 8,809,382 9,482,507 673,125 7.6%
England 53,918,686 57,690,323 3,771,637 7.0%

Table 2: Population change 2022-2023

Mid-2022 population Mid-2023 population Absolute change 2022-2023

Percentage change    2022-2023
Eastbourne 102,364 103,796 1,432 1.4%
Hastings 90,621 90,817 196 0.2%
Lewes 100,679 101,356 677 0.7%
Rother 94,221 94,862 641 0.7%
Wealden 163,122 164,653 1,531 0.9%
East Sussex 551,007 555,474 4,477 0.8%
South East 9,387,286 9,482,507 95,221 1.0%
England 57,112,542 57,690,323 577,781 1.0%

Children and young people aged 0-17

  • The population of children and young people in East Sussex has decreased by 0.6% since 2013, from 104,182 in 2013 to 103,606 in 2023.
  • Young people make up 18.7% of the total population in East Sussex in 2023. This is lower than the regional (21.0%) and national (20.8%) averages.
  • Whilst the total number of children aged 0-17 fell by 0.6% in East Sussex between 2013-2023, in England and the South East numbers rose by 4.6% and 5.7% respectively.
  • The 0-3 age group fell by 13.7% between 2013 and 2023, and saw a 1.4% fall in the year to 2023.
  • Wealden and Eastbourne saw increases in the number of children and young people between 2013 and 2023, with numbers up by 3.0% in Wealden (up 887) and 1.6% in Eastbourne (319). But numbers fell in all other areas, -5.2% in Hastings (down 989), -3.6% in Lewes (down 707), and -0.5% in Rother (down 86).
  • Overall numbers of school-age children (aged 4-15) have risen in the county over the last decade (up 3.6%). The number of primary aged children (4-10) rose by just 0.6%, however the number of secondary age (11-15) increased by 7.6%.
  • In the last year the 4-10 age group rose by 1.8% between 2022 and 2023, while there was a 0.7% drop among those aged 11-15.
  • The number of sixth former’s (aged 16-17) fell slightly by 0.1% between 2013 and 2023 but rose by 4.4% in the year to 2023.

Fig. 3: Population change among children in East Sussex, 2013-2023

Bar chart showing population of children by age groups in 2013 and 2023, with 2013 shown as light blue and 2023 shown as dark blue. The chart shows an increase (7.6%) in the 11-15 age group over the 10 years, whereas there was a decline of 13.7% among the 0-3 age group in the last decade. Primary and sixth form aged students remained fairly steady over this period with small increases (0.6% and 0.1% respectively).

Working-age people (aged 18-64)

  • The population of working age people in East Sussex has increased from 300,036 in 2013 to 304,854 in 2023. A change of 1.6% in the decade, and just 0.7% in the year to 2023. This compares to an increase from 2013 of 5.3% nationally and 5.5% regionally.
  • Working age people make up 54.9% of the total population in East Sussex in 2023. This is lower than the regional (59.3%) and national (60.5%) averages.
  • Internal migration (from within the UK) is the main driver of population change among the 18-64 age group, with a net inflow of 38,685 working age people moving into the county from the UK in the decade to 2023.
  • Between 2013 and 2023, only 14.1% of net migration of working age people in the county was from overseas.
  • In East Sussex numbers of young working age adults (aged 18-29) fell by 6.7% in the last decade, however this age group saw a small increase (0.6%) in the year to 2023.
  • The oldest age group 45-64 have risen 2.9% in the last decade, however this age group did see a small decline in the year to 2023, down 0.4%. The age group to see the biggest rise is the 30 to 44 year olds, with an increase of 5.5% since 2013, and an increase of 2.6% in the year to 2023.

Fig. 4: Population change among working age people, 2013-2023

Bar chart showing population of working age people by age groups in 2013 and 2023, with 2013 shown as light blue and 2023 shown as dark blue. The chart shows that the only group to show a decrease in numbers across the decade was the 18-24 group, down 13.1% since 2013. The 25-29 age group saw an increase of 2.8%, 30-34 group had a 5.5% increase and the 45-64 group had a 2.9% increase.

Older population (aged 65 and over)

  • The population of elderly people in East Sussex has increased by 1.1% in the year to 2023 and by 14.0% since 2013 (from 128,965 in 2013 to 147,024 in 2023), a slightly smaller increase than the decade change both nationally (16.1%) and regionally (17.0%).
  • Older people make up 26.5% of the total population in East Sussex in 2023. This is higher than the regional (19.8%) and national (18.7%) averages.
  • 21.5% of the county’s population is aged 70+, compared to only 15.7% regionally and 14.6% nationally.
  • 3.9% of the population in East Sussex are 85+, joint second highest of all counties/UAs, after Dorset and Isles of Scilly who are joint highest at 4.4%, compared to just 2.5% nationally.
  • Rother has the joint highest population of people aged 85+ in the country (with North Norfolk and New Forest) at 4.9%, one in every 20 people.

Fig. 5: Percentage of people aged 85 and over in local authority districts and unitary authorities in England, 2023

Map showing all local authority districts (LA) and Unitary Authorities (UA) in England, giving the percentage of the population who are aged 85+, with areas with a high percentage shown as dark green, and those with a small percentage as light green or white. The map shows how the places with the highest proportion of over 85s are mostly located in coastal areas, with three districts in East Sussex (Rother, Eastbourne and Lewes) having more than 4% of their population aged 85+.

Fig. 6: Population change among those aged 65+, East Sussex 2013-2023

Bar chart showing population of older people by age groups in 2013 and 2023, with 2013 shown as light blue and 2023 shown as dark blue. The chart shows a significant rise in people aged 75-84 in the county between 2013 and 2023, with an increase of 32.5%. There was also an increase among those aged 70-74 (up 25%), and the very elderly, aged 85 and over with an increase of 4.9%. The only group to see a decline in numbers from 2013 was the 65-69 group, down 8.8%.

  • Almost a third of Rother’s population (32.5%) are aged 65+, ranking second highest of all districts/UAs, behind North Norfolk. Rother now has the joint highest proportion of over 85s in the country at 4.9% (with New Forest and North Norfolk), with Lewes the joint 4th highest at 4.2%, and Eastbourne having the joint 5th highest at 4.1%.
  • Hastings has the smallest proportion of older people in the county with only 20.8% of the population being aged 65+, and 2.6% of the population being 85+.

Fig. 7: Elderly dependency ratios in East Sussex districts, South East and England in 2023

This horizontal bar chart shows how the elderly dependency ratios vary in districts, East Sussex, the South East region and England. The number shown expresses the number of older people who are dependent on each 10 working age people. The chart shows that there are 4.6 older people for every 10 people of working age in East Sussex, and 6.1 in Rother, compared to 3.0 in England as a whole.

Districts

Fig. 8: East Sussex population by districts in 2013 and 2023

This chart shows how population as changed in districts of East Sussex, between 2013 and 2023, with a dark bar showing the population in 2013 and a light blue bar showing the population in 2023. On each pair of bars are labels showing how the population has increased in each district as follows:

Eastbourne

The population of Eastbourne has increased by 3.1% since 2013 (up 3,134), but this increase has been dominated by older people aged 65 and over (up 9.0% over 10 years), with falls among younger adult age groups – there were 1,277 fewer people aged 16 to 29 (down 7.6%), while the number of births fell with 1,165 fewer 0-4 year olds in the district (down 20.4%). There was an increase of 754 people aged 30-44 (up 4.2%), and children aged 0-15 (up 0.4%). The largest growth in Eastbourne was seen among the population aged in their 70’s with an increase of 2,795 people (up 31.2%) from 2013.

Hastings

Hastings has seen the population decrease slightly by 0.2% since 2013, the only district to see a population decrease in the decade to 2023. Again, the increase has been dominated by older people with an increase of 2,389 (36.6%) among people aged in their 70’s, and 13.6% of all aged 65 and over. This compares to a fall of 18.0% among those aged 16 to 29 (down 2,855 people), a decrease of 4.7% among the 0-15 age group, including a 17.5% decline in children aged 0-4.

Lewes

Overall population numbers in Lewes have risen by 2.2% since 2013, with a large rise among people aged 65+ (up 14.6% or 3,473 more people), with the largest rise among those aged 75-79 with an increase of 45.7% (1,988 people). The number of young people in the district has fallen the most, children aged 0-15 have declined by 3.7%, including a 17.7% fall in children aged 0-4 and an 8.1% decline in young people aged 16-29. There has been a slight increase in the number of 30-44 year olds (up 2.9%) in the decade to 2023.

Rother

The population of Rother has risen by 4.8% since 2013, with a 12.1% rise among those 65 and over (3,338 more people in this age group). The largest rise is seen among those aged 30-44 with an increase of 8.0%, There were increases seen in the older age groups as well, including those aged 85 and over, increasing by 1.8%. The number of young people aged 0-15 fell by 0.2% in the decade to 2023, while the number of young adults aged 16-29 saw a small increase of 0.4%. Rother now has the highest proportion of those aged 85+ of all local authorities in the country and it has the second highest proportion of people aged 65 and over.

Wealden

Wealden has seen the biggest rise in population in the county since 2013, of 8.4% (12,828 more people), reflecting increased housing provision in the district. The rise was dominated by older people with 18.3% more people aged 65+, and 13.0% more people aged 85 and over. But there were also rises among all other age groups, the 30-44 age group saw an increase of 8.2%, the 16-29 age group was up 4.5% and children aged 0-15 were up 3.0%.

Detailed components of change data

Table 3: Population and components of change, 2022-2023

East Sussex South East England
Population mid-2022 551,007 9,387,286 57,112,542
Births 4,331 89,680 570,747
Deaths 7,349 92,031 560,859
Natural change -3,018 -2,351 9,888
Internal migration – net 4,495 18,381 -31,393
International migration – net 2,923 79,410 598,439
Other* 77 -219 847
Population mid-2023 555,484 9,482,507 57,690,323

*Other changes presented in this table comprise changes to the size of armed forces stationed in the UK and other special population adjustments such the prison population. 

Table 4: Population and components of change, 2022–2023 Districts

Eastbourne Hastings Lewes Rother Wealden
Population mid-2022 102,364 90,621 100,679 94,221 163,122
Births 803 863 743 642 1,280
Deaths 1,417 1,174 1,264 1,512 1,982
Natural change -614 -311 -521 -870 -702
Internal migration – net 721 52 853 1,108 1,761
International migration – net 1,325 454 309 398 437
Other* 0 1 36 5 35
Population mid-2023 103,796 90,817 101,356 94,862 164,653

Further information

The mid-year population estimates are produced annually by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for every local authority and health area in England & Wales.  The latest mid-2023 population estimates were released by ONS on 15th July 2024, alongside the detailed components of change.

This data is available by gender and age groups at district level and a useful Analysis Tool is also available from the ONS.

  • For more information about mid-year population estimates see the ONS website. Data is also available to download from the Nomis
  • For further information about population estimates for East Sussex, contact Emma Corby by email esif@eastsussex.gov.uk