Children from ethnic minorities will be in the majority in London's schools within a few years as accelerating population shifts transform the composition of the capital.

Figures released yesterday show that the proportion of whites living in London fell by almost 8 per cent during the 1990s because of an influx of new residents.

In a decade of unprecedented population change, large numbers of Africans, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans arrived in the fastest-growing city in Western Europe.

The city's overall population rose by 282,000 to 7.17 million in 2001, straining public services and the transport network. The number of people from ethnic minorities rose from 1.3 million to more than two million, or 28.8 per cent. Over the same period, the trend of "white flight" appeared to gather pace, with the white population dropping by 390,000.

In Newham and Brent, ethnic minority groups outnumber white people. Whites comprise 90 per cent or more of the population in four of London's 33 boroughs - Havering, Bromley, Bexley and Richmond upon Thames.

The demographic shift is most pronounced in younger age groups, with 47 per cent of children in London schools from ethnic minorities.

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, said the city's diversity was a source of economic and cultural dynamism. "London's prosperity is totally dependent upon the international flow of goods, services and people. That is why its population is increasingly diverse. Our polls show that nearly eight out of 10 Londoners think the city's cultural diversity is one of its most attractive features."

One of the most striking trends has been the doubling of the capital's black African community to 370,000, with large increases in the numbers of people born in such countries as Nigeria, Somalia, Ghana and Kenya. The trend indicates that black Africans will shortly pass Indians (437,000) as the most numerous ethnic group in the city.

Over the period the number of Bangladeshis rose by nearly three-quarters and Pakistanis by more than half, while the much smaller South American community trebled.

A total of 58 per cent of Londoners describe themselves as Christian, 8.5 per cent (607,000) as Muslim, 4 per cent (292,000) as Hindu, 2.1 per cent (150,000) as Jewish and 1.5 per cent (104,000) as Sikh. More than one million (16 per cent) had no religion.

Until the early 1980s, the capital's population had been declining gently as Londoners swapped the city for home counties suburbs. Since then it has grown by 600,000, the equivalent of a city the size of Sheffield, a trend the Greater London Authority attributes to its pivotal position in the developing global economy and likens to increases in the populations of Paris and New York.

Mr Livingstone said: "Other UK cities like Birmingham and Manchester are almost equally diverse and I hope to work with them to promote the celebration of diversity as a positive alternative to the racism and xenophobia which have unfortunately taken root in some other parts of Europe."

The population trends pose serious problems for the capital's planners. Investment in housing, transport and other services has struggled to keep pace with the arrival of immigrants, and property prices and office rents have soared.

The rapid growth of the ethnic minority population has raised more fundamental questions about the nature of public services. One of the central principles of policing, for example, is that citizens are policed and protected by their peers. But despite recruitment campaigns aimed at black and Asian youngsters, just 5 per cent of police officers and 6 per cent of firefighters in the capital are drawn from ethnic minorities. One encouraging sign is that about a quarter of the new community support officers are from ethnic groups.

In schools, there is an endemic problem with the under-achievement of many boys of Caribbean origin, who run the risk as a result of drifting into crime. An aggravating factor appears to be the lack of black role models in the schools that the children attend.

Redmond O'Neill, a policy director to Mr Livingstone, said: "All of London's communities pay taxes to fund the city's public services. Those services must be responsive to different communities and delivered by staff who reflect London's diverse population."

Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol and Liverpool are the only large cities with an ethnic minority population below the English average of 9 per cent. Slough, Leicester, Birmingham and Luton have more than three times the average.
 

 
The findings add to mounting evidence that London is experiencing a form of 'white flight,' a phenomenon that hit many U.S cities in the 1960s and 70s.

Research suggests middle class people - including well-off ethnic minorities - are fleeing to the shires, while many new-comers are recent immigrants to Britain.

Fear of crime, poor schools and chaotic transport are believed to be prompting families to move to the Home Counties or further afield.

In America, the 'white flight' phenomenon saw inner city crime rates soar as poorer families moved in to replace wealthier residents who had moved to the suburbs.

The London figures were prepared for an anti-racism conference last month by officials working for Mayor Ken Livingstone, but were not widely publicised. They were taken from the 2001 census, which was published last year.