A boom in maths and sciences at A-level is being attributed by examiners to the pressures of the global recession and the "Brian Cox effect".

A dose of glamour injected by the TV physicist, coupled with a realisation that employers will pay a premium for maths, has fuelled big rises in these subjects.

Entries for A-level maths are up by just over 40% over five years, while the number of entries for physics has risen by 19.6% and chemistry is up 19.4%.

Languages continue a long-term decline, with combined entries for French, German and Spanish down by 6.3%. Geography is down 1.3%while history has gained in popularity, rising 9.5%.

General studies, a subject that few universities accept for entrance, has slumped over the past five years, down 26.4%.

Critical thinking sees the sharpest year-on-year drop, down 17% – though the number of entries is small.

The number of entries for A-level Chinese is up, from 2,372 last year to 3,237 this year. It is the fourth most popular language after French, Spanish and German and the only one to show a significant rise.

The top 10 most popular subjects, in order, are: English, maths, biology, psychology, history, chemistry, art and design, general studies, media studies and physics.

Andrew Hall, chief executive of exam awarding body AQA, said there was an "absolutely astonishing increase" in science and maths subjects.

Ziggy Liaquat, managing director of Edexcel, referred to the increasing presence of science and maths in popular culture and added: "It could be the Brian Cox effect. It could be as simple as that."

Liaquat pointed to the beginning of the financial downturn as the impetus for students to choose to study science and maths. "When these students would have made their choices, it would have been at the very beginning of the global economic downturn, when businesses were crying out for students and young people to have skills in science, engineering and maths.

"What we are seeing today is the outcome of those choices. Students are making far more informed choices on what's going to give them success in terms of jobs, university and meeting the needs of the economy, which we all know has to compete in a global marketplace. That's a really positive message from today."

Cox, presenter of Wonders of the Universe, said he believed there had been a "step change" in the public's opinion of science.

"I go to schools and I see and hear there are a lot of kids, girls as well as boys, interested in science and engineering," he said. "

"This is the message: that these subjects are great things to do – for the individual it's great because there is a shortage of scientists and engineers, but it's also great for the country, because our country needs these people to improve our economy in the 21st century."

Dr Neil Bentley, deputy director-general of the CBI, said it was "positive news" that the number of young people studying Chinese had gone up. "Companies will need many more people with strong language skills to help them enter new markets like China in the future," he said. But he added that the overall numbers studying maths and science were still far too low.

"There is already a skills gap emerging in this area, with over 40% of companies saying they are having difficulty recruiting people with science, technology, engineering and maths skills," he said.

The schools minister, Nick Gibb, said: "It is worrying that take-up has fallen in French and German and flatlined in Spanish, even if it is rising in other languages.

"Languages are important to the social and economic future of this country, so we are concerned about the knock-on effect on A-levels from the decline in modern languages at GCSE."

In Thursday's results, A-level pass rates rose to 97.8% – another record high – but the share of entries getting the highest grade has remained unchanged from last year at 27%.

The overall pass rate has risen for the 29th successive year for 250,000 candidates in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. This year, 8.2% of boys have achieved an A*, up from 7.9% last year, while girls' performance has dipped from 8.3% to 8.2%.

Examiners suggest the rise of quantitative subjects such as maths may have helped boys draw level in results for the highest grade.