UK millionaire population rises by 41% to 715,000 over 5 years

The number of millionaires in the UK has increased by 41% over the last five years, with every region in the country seeing a rise. The country's property market boom and stock market gains have contributed largely to the gain.

According to the Barclays UK Prosperity Map, there are now 715,000 millionaires living in Britain compared to 508,000 in 2010. One in 65 adults in the country is a millionaire now. Nearly half of the new millionaires are living outside the capital city and the South East, according to the data.

London, the South East and Eastern England still remain the most prosperous regions in the UK, enjoying higher than average household wealth, property prices, earnings and business birth-to-death ratios. After London, Reading is the most prosperous city in the UK, closely followed by Cambridge.

The capital city has 191,000 millionaires, more than the combined millionaire population of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England. London is followed by the South East with 157,000. Wales has the fewest number of millionaires at 12,000.

"It is also encouraging to see that regions and cities are starting to close the gap with London in terms of prosperity; with the North East, for example, seeing business growth rates behind only London," said Akshaya Bhargava, chief executive of Barclays Wealth and Investment Management.

Surging property prices and high returns in equity markets have been making people wealthier in the UK. In addition, higher wages and employment growth in line with the country's economic recovery are also contributing to the country's prosperity.

The latest data also showed that UK charitable giving increased by £1.1bn in the year to 2013 to £10.4bn. Despite ranking sixth nationally for prosperity, Northern Ireland is the country's most charitable region, with 45% of households giving to charity compared to the national average of 29%.

Barclays added that it expected a 9% increase in the number of millionaires to 778,000 by 2025.

Cities ranked according to the prosperity index are given below.

1. London

2. Reading

3. Cambridge

4. Birmingham

5. Bristol

6. Leeds

7. Cardiff

8. Manchester

9. Liverpool

10. Newcastle