# Electric vehicle charging across the UK

How the public charging network is growing, and how unevenly, from DfT statistics. At 1 April 2026 the UK had about 119,080 public charging devices, around 171.9 per 100,000 people, up by more than half in two years. But provision ranges from dense in inner London to thin across Northern Ireland and the rural North. This page shows how the nations and local areas compare.

Source page: https://britishresilienceindex.com/deep-dive/ev-charging
Machine readable data: https://britishresilienceindex.com/data/deep-dive/ev-charging.json

## How to read this

These are DfT public electric vehicle charging device statistics, counts of publicly available chargers from Zapmap set against population. The fair comparison between areas is devices per 100,000 people. A high figure means dense provision, which in central cities is driven by commercial charging hubs rather than how many residents own an electric car.

## Growing fast, spread unevenly

The UK passed 119,080 public charging devices by April 2026, about 171.9 for every 100,000 people and up around 54 per cent in two years. Of those, about 27,372 are rapid or ultra rapid. Growth is real, but where the chargers are is the story: provision is several times denser in some places than others, and the gap is not closing evenly.

- **Uk chargers**: 119,080
- **Per capita**: 171.9
- **Rapid**: 27,372

## Scotland ahead, Northern Ireland far behind

Scotland has the densest network of the four nations at 228.5 devices per 100,000 people, helped by sustained public investment. Northern Ireland trails badly at 59.4, around a third of the UK average, with every one of its councils in the bottom group nationally.

| name | per100k |
|---|---|
| Scotland | 228.5 |
| Wales | 179.3 |
| England | 169.8 |
| Northern Ireland | 59.4 |

- **Uk per100k**: 171.9

## From inner London hubs to the thin spots

Among local authorities, provision runs from 1,380.1 devices per 100,000 people in Hammersmith and Fulham down to under 37 in the thinnest areas. The densest are inner London boroughs, where commercial charging hubs serve commuters and fleets rather than local residents; the thinnest are in Northern Ireland and parts of the rural North and East.

**Top**

| name | per100k |
|---|---|
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 1,380.1 |
| Westminster | 1,370.5 |
| Tower Hamlets | 765 |
| Coventry | 708.1 |
| Watford | 672.8 |
| Waltham Forest | 667.4 |
| Hackney | 637.7 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 634 |

**Bottom**

| name | per100k |
|---|---|
| Derry City and Strabane | 37.4 |
| North East Derbyshire | 39.4 |
| Castle Point | 39.7 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 42.6 |
| Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 45.4 |
| Ards and North Down | 46.5 |

- **Note**: Public charging devices per 100,000 population, 1 April 2026. Isles of Scilly is set aside as a small outlier. High inner London figures reflect commercial hub density, not how many residents drive an electric car. Source: DfT.

## For the switch to electric

- Charger numbers are growing fast, but provision is several times denser in some places than others. Will the gaps close before the 2030s, or widen?
- Scotland is far ahead and Northern Ireland far behind. How much is public investment and how much is the market?
- The densest areas are inner London commercial hubs. Does a high devices per head figure there really mean it is easy for a resident without a driveway to charge?
- Rural areas and the North have the thinnest networks. Does that risk leaving the switch to electric to wealthier city regions first?

## Sources

- Electric vehicle public charging infrastructure statistics, April 2026 (DfT) (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-statistics) · Open Government Licence v3.0

## Caveats and data notes

- Figures count publicly available charging devices, sourced by DfT from Zapmap, set against population. They do not count home or workplace chargers, which is where most charging happens for drivers with a driveway.
- Devices per 100,000 people is the fair comparison between areas, but in central cities it is inflated by commercial charging hubs that serve commuters and fleets, so it overstates how easy it is for a local resident to charge.
- The headline device count uses a new measure introduced in 2026; the two year growth figure uses the longer running comparable series, so the two are not added together.
- Northern Ireland is a genuine outlier with the thinnest network of any nation.
- Source: DfT electric vehicle public charging infrastructure statistics, 1 April 2026.

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British Resilience Index, a non-partisan UK civic data project. Every figure is
reconciled to its primary official publisher before it is shown. Free to cite with
attribution: https://britishresilienceindex.com