App development employs more Brits than the mining industry did in 1970

291,000 now work in app development in the UK, according to Apple

The app development sector in the UK is the largest in the European Union and now employs more people than the mining industry did in 1970.

That's according to new figures released by Apple, which indicate that 291,000 people in the UK are employed in Apple "App Store ecosystem jobs".

That compares to 262,000 in Germany, 220,000 in France, and 167,000 in the Netherlands. In total, the company claims that since the launch of the App Store in 2008 more than 1.5 million jobs have been generated across Europe.

London, perhaps not surprisingly, is the epicentre of app development in the UK. Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford and Bristol are also in the top-30 locations for app development in Europe, according to Apple.

The company is also planning to open a 2,500 employee campus in London - at Battersea power station - opening in 2021, which will consolidate the company's various sites around London.

In addition to London, Apple also has its European headquarters in Cork, Ireland; Apple also runs a data centre in Denmark and an Apple Developer Academy in Naples, Italy.

Jobs in the app development sector have been growing fast, increasing by 28 per cent since mid-2016, according to Apple.

UK app developers have earned more than £2 billion via the Apple app store (with Apple taking its one-third cut, of course) since it was opened up for business. Across Europe more than €20 billion has been dropped into the pockets of app developers.

The figures were released as part of a European Union-focused lobbying campaign intended to highlight how many jobs the company has created across Europe. The campaign comes as Apple faces growing pressure over the level of corporate taxes it pays in the EU.

In September, Apple will hear its appeal over a European Union demand that it pay as much as €13 billion in back taxes.