Population in Saint Helena
Saint Helena: Population was 5,316 people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
5,316 people
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
233rd
of 239 countries
All-time high
6,900 people
in 1861
All-time low
1,997 people
in 1800
Years of data
86
1800–2023
Population in Saint Helena, 1800–2023
Source: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Saint Helena recorded 5,316 people for population in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and down 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population in Saint Helena peaked at 6,900 people in 1861 and was at its lowest, 1,997 people, in 1800.
That places Saint Helena 233rd out of 239 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 86 years of available data.
Population in Saint Helena, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 1,997 people | — |
| 1820 | 1,997 people | +0.0% |
| 1854 | 6,300 people | +215.5% |
| 1861 | 6,900 people | +9.5% |
| 1871 | 6,200 people | -10.1% |
| 1881 | 5,100 people | -17.7% |
| 1891 | 3,900 people | -23.5% |
| 1901 | 3,300 people | -15.4% |
| 1911 | 3,500 people | +6.1% |
| 1921 | 3,700 people | +5.7% |
| 1931 | 4,200 people | +13.5% |
| 1946 | 5,000 people | +19.0% |
| 1950 | 5,249 people | +5.0% |
| 1951 | 5,297 people | +0.9% |
| 1952 | 5,324 people | +0.5% |
| 1953 | 5,342 people | +0.3% |
| 1954 | 5,344 people | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 5,329 people | -0.3% |
| 1956 | 5,320 people | -0.2% |
| 1957 | 5,329 people | +0.2% |
| 1958 | 5,350 people | +0.4% |
| 1959 | 5,361 people | +0.2% |
| 1960 | 5,388 people | +0.5% |
| 1961 | 5,407 people | +0.4% |
| 1962 | 5,438 people | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 5,460 people | +0.4% |
| 1964 | 5,486 people | +0.5% |
| 1965 | 5,494 people | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 5,524 people | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 5,570 people | +0.8% |
| 1968 | 5,647 people | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 5,715 people | +1.2% |
| 1970 | 5,797 people | +1.4% |
| 1971 | 5,880 people | +1.4% |
| 1972 | 5,953 people | +1.2% |
| 1973 | 6,026 people | +1.2% |
| 1974 | 6,091 people | +1.1% |
| 1975 | 6,155 people | +1.1% |
| 1976 | 6,194 people | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 6,245 people | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 6,310 people | +1.0% |
| 1979 | 6,362 people | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 6,413 people | +0.8% |
| 1981 | 6,466 people | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 6,535 people | +1.1% |
| 1983 | 6,601 people | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 6,647 people | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 6,678 people | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 6,706 people | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 6,723 people | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 6,710 people | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 6,677 people | -0.5% |
| 1990 | 6,639 people | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 6,601 people | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 6,545 people | -0.8% |
| 1993 | 6,495 people | -0.8% |
| 1994 | 6,433 people | -1.0% |
| 1995 | 6,373 people | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 6,309 people | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 6,249 people | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 6,184 people | -1.0% |
| 1999 | 6,113 people | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 6,045 people | -1.1% |
| 2001 | 5,963 people | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 5,879 people | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 5,775 people | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 5,678 people | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 5,570 people | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 5,457 people | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 5,346 people | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 5,295 people | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 5,320 people | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 5,352 people | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 5,385 people | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 5,428 people | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 5,462 people | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 5,493 people | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 5,529 people | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 5,544 people | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 5,528 people | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 5,507 people | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 5,485 people | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 5,451 people | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 5,415 people | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 5,369 people | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 5,316 people | -1.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Population in Saint Helena changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1854 | +215.5% | 1,997 people | 6,300 people |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1800s | 1,997 people | 1,997 people | 1,997 people | 1 |
| 1820s | 1,997 people | 1,997 people | 1,997 people | 1 |
| 1850s | 6,300 people | 6,300 people | 6,300 people | 1 |
| 1860s | 6,900 people | 6,900 people | 6,900 people | 1 |
| 1870s | 6,200 people | 6,200 people | 6,200 people | 1 |
| 1880s | 5,100 people | 5,100 people | 5,100 people | 1 |
| 1890s | 3,900 people | 3,900 people | 3,900 people | 1 |
| 1900s | 3,300 people | 3,300 people | 3,300 people | 1 |
| 1910s | 3,500 people | 3,500 people | 3,500 people | 1 |
| 1920s | 3,700 people | 3,700 people | 3,700 people | 1 |
| 1930s | 4,200 people | 4,200 people | 4,200 people | 1 |
| 1940s | 5,000 people | 5,000 people | 5,000 people | 1 |
| 1950s | 5,324 people | 5,249 people | 5,361 people | 10 |
| 1960s | 5,513 people | 5,388 people | 5,715 people | 10 |
| 1970s | 6,101 people | 5,797 people | 6,362 people | 10 |
| 1980s | 6,616 people | 6,413 people | 6,723 people | 10 |
| 1990s | 6,394 people | 6,113 people | 6,639 people | 10 |
| 2000s | 5,633 people | 5,295 people | 6,045 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 5,471 people | 5,352 people | 5,544 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 5,388 people | 5,316 people | 5,451 people | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saint Helena
- 230 Saint Barthelemy 11,112 people compare
- 231 Tuvalu 9,837 people compare
- 232 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 5,707 people compare
- 234 Montserrat 4,440 people compare
- 235 Falkland Islands 3,498 people compare
- 236 Tokelau 2,424 people compare
More population data for Saint Helena
- World population growth -0.6% (2100)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.4874 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -0.5911 % change on previous year (2050)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 110 people (2100)
- Population density 6.81 people per km² (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.6% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.4874 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.4938 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population aged 14 years or younger (thousands), annual growth rate -1.8 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population in Saint Helena?
- Population in Saint Helena was 5,316 people in 2023, according to HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest population recorded in Saint Helena?
- The highest recorded value was 6,900 people in 1861.
- What is the lowest population recorded in Saint Helena?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,997 people in 1800.
- How does Saint Helena rank for population?
- Saint Helena ranks 233rd out of 239 countries with data for 2023.
- Is population rising or falling in Saint Helena?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saint Helena data come from?
- The figures come from HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 86 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.