Read a version of this story in Arabic . ( Financial Times ) -- White Britons no longer make up the majority of people in London for the first time , according to the latest census data which pointed to a cosmopolitan capital increasingly divergent from the national economy around it . The 2011 data also revealed a population of England and Wales that is generally better educated but less religious than it was a decade ago -- and less likely to live in a home that they own . The total population rose by 3.7m to 56.1m , an increase of 7 per cent from the previous census in 2001 . Migration was responsible for 60 per cent of that growth -- 2.1m people . Of the 13 per cent of the population who were born outside the UK -- 7.5m residents -- just more than half arrived within the past 10 years . This compares with the 2001 census , when 9 per cent of the population was born outside the UK . The surge of immigration has been especially striking in London , where more than one in three people -- 37 per cent -- were born outside the UK . Only 45 per cent of London 's population were white people of English , Scottish or Welsh heritage , according to the latest data , down from almost 60 per cent in 2001 . This makes London the first UK region where white ethnic Britons have become a minority . The top source of new migrants to England and Wales overall for the decade was India -- supplanting Ireland in the decade to 2001 -- while the second-biggest source was Poland . In the 2001 census , Poland did not make the top 10 . In another major deomographic shift , home ownership has fallen over the past 10 years , according to this latest data , marking the first decade-on-decade decline since detailed records began 60 years ago . The figures show how growing numbers of Britons are being locked out of the property market by high prices and a shortage of credit . The proportion of residents who either owned their home outright or owned with a mortgage fell to 64 per cent in 2011 , from 68 per cent in 2001 , said the Office for National Statistics . However , a bigger proportion , 31 per cent , owned their homes outright than they did a decade ago , highlighting a growing divergence between homeowners and those unable to get on the housing ladder . `` These figures confirm that home ownership is slipping further and further out of reach , no matter how hard people work or save , '' said Campbell Robb , chief executive of Shelter , the housing charity . `` Young people are living at home well into their 30s ... but unable to afford a place of their own . '' The percentage of the population renting from private landlords rose 6 percentage points from a decade earlier to 15 per cent . Overall , the population of England and Wales has become better educated than it was a decade ago . A higher percentage have university degrees than have no qualifications , a reversal of the situation in 2001 . Levels of educational attainment in London are far higher than the national averages , with 27.2 per cent of the national population having attained a university degree or better , compared with 44.7 per cent of those living in inner London . Indeed , in five of 14 inner London boroughs , more than half the population have university or equal level qualifications . And Britain is apparently becoming less religious . The question on religious affiliation is voluntary , so not all applicants may have answered it . However , the percentage identifying themselves as Christian fell to 59 per cent , from 72 per cent in 2001 . Christianity was the only religious group to have experienced a fall in numbers , despite the growth in the population generally . The second-largest religious identity was none at all . In 2011 , a quarter of the population said it had no religious affiliation , up from 15 per cent in 2001 , according to the figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday . © The Financial Times Limited 2012 .
The latest census data shows that white Britons are no longer a majority in London . The data also says that Britons are better educated , less likely to own a home and less religious . Migration was responsible for 60 % of the population growth from 2001 to 2011 . Comment: