ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

London’s population surged by more than 100,000 last year to hit a new all-time high of almost 8.8 million, latest official data reveals today.

The capital was once again the nation’s fastest growing region with a growth rate of 1.3 per cent, more than twice the level of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the north of England.

The fast pace contributed more than a fifth of the overall increase in the UK population of 538,000 to 65.65 million, a 0.8 per cent rise that is in line with previous years. Almost two thirds of the increase is due to net immigration from abroad.

There were an estimated 8,787,892 people living in London in June last year, up by 114,179 on the 8,673,713 in June 2015, according to calculations by the Office for National Statistics.

The increase is the equivalent to a town the size of Cheltenham being added to the population of London in a single year.

London’s population has exploded in recent years after passing the 8 million mark as recently as 2010.

Today’s figures show that of the 14 local authority areas showing population increases of two per cent or above, eight were in London.

They were Westminster, Camden, City of London, Islington, Haringey, Tower Hamlets, Newham, and Barking and Dagenham.

Today’s data also shows that London has a much younger population than most of the rest of Britain with a median age of just 34.8 compared with a national average of 40. Only 11.6 per cent of Londoners are aged over 65, compared with 33.3 per cent in west Somerset.

However, today’s data also shows a marked acceleration in the number of people leaving London for other parts of the country.

Net migration from the capital last year was 93,302, the highest since 2004.

The increase is likely to be largely the result of the yawning gap between house prices in London and most of the rest of Britain.

The ONS data suggests that thousands of young Londoners in their twenties arrive in the capital drawn by the “Dick Whittington effect” in search of jobs and excitement but leave when they reach their thirties to find of more living space when they start their families.

Across London the only two age groups that saw net inflows from the rest of the country were 20 to 24 and 25 to 29.

By contrast there was a net outflow of 16,850 of people aged 30 to 34 and 17,690 of people in the 35 to 39 age bracket.