Adele tops another chart, this time it's personal

Adele has been named most popular artist in the world in a new chart. Photo / Getty

Adele has topped another chart - a top 10 of the most popular acts in the world.

The British singer has been named as the most popular recording artist in 2015, according to an international music trade body.

British acts make up half of the top 10 artists on the list compiled by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

Adele, 27, is the third recipient of the IFPI Global Recording Artist of the year award - an accolade that reflects an artist's worldwide popularity across physical formats, downloads and streams.

Her place at the top was driven by the October release and subsequent global success of lead single Hello from the album 25.

The track was number one in more than 30 countries worldwide, including the US, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and the UK.

Adele's album 25 followed in November and has notched up worldwide sales of over 15 million.

Other acts in the top 10 include Ed Sheeran, One Direction, Coldplay and Sam Smith.

Sheeran took second place, one up from the third spot he occupied on the 2014 ranking.

He also kept a high profile in 2015 due to a busy schedule of touring, award wins and personal appearances, while launching his own record label, Gingerbread Man Records, an imprint of Atlantic Records UK.

In third place was Taylor Swift, who was the recipient of the 2014 IFPI Global Recording Artist award.

IFPI's Global Recording Artist award and top 10 chart is the only ranking to accurately capture the popularity of artists across streaming channels, alongside digital and physical album and singles sales on a global basis.

Top 10 Global Recording Artists of 2015

1. Adele
2. Ed Sheeran
3. Taylor Swift
4. Justin Bieber
5. One Direction
6. Coldplay
7. Maroon 5
8. Sam Smith
9. Drake
10. The Weeknd

- AAP