Britain slips behind India to become world's sixth biggest economy

Britain has dropped behind India to become the world’s sixth largest economy, delivering a further blow to the government in London as it grapples with a brutal cost-of-living shock.

The former British colony leaped past the UK in the final three months of 2021 to become the fifth-biggest economy. The calculation is based in US dollars, and India extended its lead in the first quarter, according to GDP figures from the International Monetary Fund.

The UK’s decline down the international rankings is an unwelcome backdrop for the new prime minister. Conservative Party members choose Boris Johnson’s successor on