Over half of people in some north London boroughs hold a degree or a similar qualification, according to census data.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that more than 50 per cent of residents in Camden, Islington and Hackney hold a level 4 or above qualification.

Level 4 or above covers a Higher National Certificate, Higher National Diploma, Bachelor’s degree or postgraduate qualifications.

In Hackney, 52.4pc of people held a level 4 or above qualification. For Islington and Camden, this number rose to 56.6pc and 57.3pc respectively.

For the whole of London, 46.7pc of people had the highest level of qualifications, totalling 3.3 million people.

The percentage was “considerably higher” than all other regions, the ONS said.

According to census data, Camden, Islington and Hackney also had a low proportion of residents aged 16 and over with no qualifications compared to the rest of England and Wales.

For Camden 11.8pc of people have no qualifications, rising to 13.8pc in Islington and 16.7pc in Hackney. 

Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) think tank, said: “The numbers are stark. While they show how amazingly well-educated Londoners are relative to other areas, they also highlight the importance of education in true levelling up.

“London does well partly because people move there but also because the education system in the capital is very good, thanks to conscious decisions by policymakers over many years.

“If other areas are to compete with London, they need similar levels of investment and commitment. The jury is out on whether that is likely to happen given recent political changes.”

Levelling-up Secretary Michael Gove was recently forced to defend the decision to invest in London after the allocation of levelling-up cash was announced last week.

He told Times Radio that he did not think it was “quite right” to infer a tilt away from funding for the North.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also defended the way funding had been allocated, claiming that the government was "completely committed to levelling up across the United Kingdom.” 

He added: “If you look at how we are spending this money, it is disproportionately benefiting people in the North East, the North West, and that’s great.”