how many barristers in the uk

There are roughly 18,000 practising barristers in England and Wales , and around 17,500–18,000 is the figure most commonly quoted for “barristers in the UK” in everyday discussion , since England and Wales has by far the largest Bar.

Quick Scoop

• The Bar Standards Board and Bar Council data indicate there are about 17,500–18,000 practising barristers in England and Wales , with a recent Bar Council blog putting the number at 17,864.

• A 2024 breakdown of UK lawyers cites around 17,656 barristers in England and Wales , plus a much smaller number of comparable advocate roles in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

• In public stats that group jobs, there are about 32,000 “judges and barristers” combined in the UK workforce, but this includes judges and uses an occupational category rather than a pure headcount of barristers.

What people usually mean by “how many barristers in the UK”

When people search “how many barristers in the UK ”, most professional and careers sites actually answer in terms of England and Wales , because that is where the “barrister” title is formally used and where almost all of them work. Scotland’s equivalent courtroom specialists are called advocates , and Northern Ireland has a small Bar, so combined UK-wide numbers beyond England and Wales only add a few hundred more people in similar roles.

Latest trend and context

Recent overviews of the UK legal profession show that:

• The total number of lawyers in the UK (all types) is estimated at just over 300,000 , with barristers forming a small but high‑profile slice of that group.

• Over the last few years, the number of barristers in England and Wales has continued to grow slowly, with the Bar Council noting that the practising Bar has almost doubled in size since the early 1990s.

So if you are looking for a current, practical answer: think in terms of around 18,000 practising barristers in England and Wales , and only a modest number more if you stretch the term to a UK‑wide figure including similar roles.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.