Adele named the UK's best-selling female artist of the 21st century

The 'Someone Like You' singer came ahead of Beyonce, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga thanks to her album '25'

Adele has been recognised as the UK’s best-selling female artist of the century so far.

The Someone Like You singer topped a new list compiled by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), coming ahead of some of the world's top artists including Beyonce, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga.

The list takes into account how many albums artists have sold since the year 2000, while also including streaming data.

Scroll through the gallery above to find out the top 10 best-selling female artists in the UK.

The top 10 artists have collectively sold more than 72 million albums, including streamed equivalents. The BPI data also revealed the top 10 albums of the century; all three studio albums by Adele works are featured in the list.

Her 2011 release 21 sold just under six million copies in the UK and led the list of top 10 albums sold in the 21st century. Coming in at second place was Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, which marks its 15th anniversary in October, followed by Adele's 2015 album 25. Fourth was Leona Lewis's 2007 album Spirit followed by Lady Gaga's The Fame, released in 2008.

Dido's 1999 and 2003 releases, No Angel and Life For Rent, came in at sixth and seventh place. Norah Jones's 2002 work Come Away With Me came eighth, followed by Adele's 2008 release 19. In 10th place was Emeli Sande's Our Version of Events, released in 2012.

The list of best-selling albums was released by BPI on Monday, coinciding with the announcement that National Album Day – a musical event in the UK that pays tribute to the album format – will be held on Saturday, October 16.

The theme for the fourth iteration of the event is "celebrating women in music". National Album Day is organised jointly by the BPI and the Entertainment Retailers Association.