"Il sorpasso" (Italian for "the overtaking") was a term coined in the 1980s by the Italian press to describe Italy's economy surpassing Britain's in nominal GDP to become the world's sixth-largest economy.
Since joining the euro Italy's GDP has scarcely grown at all. I read that it had grown since 1999 3% not a year but in total, but according to Google's AI her GDP in fact has only grown 1% since 1999.
Nevertheless GDP in Italy per capita (a measure of average individual wealth) is roughly equal to the UK's, though GDP is a flawed concept anyway. Does this make sense to you?
Politically Italy has far better leadership than the UK but Signora Meloni has sold out, let in huge numbers of immigrants and has been an obedient US vassal until Mr Trump said she had begged for a photograph with him. Then she discovered her true self.
She tried to get immigrants deported to Albania, but was stymied by the courts.
ReplyDeleteBritain suffers biggest fall in wealth in the rich world
ReplyDeleteAverage UK individual’s assets worth less than those in Italy and the Netherlands
Tim Wallace
Deputy Economics Editor
Tim Wallace
Tim Wallace is the Telegraph's Deputy Economics Editor. See more
Published 01 July 2026 7:00am BST
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British families have suffered the biggest fall in wealth in the rich world since the pandemic.
The average Briton’s wealth has fallen by more than a fifth over the last five years, according to UBS. The slump is the worst seen across the 37 countries it surveyed.
Typical individual wealth has fallen by around £28,500 since 2020 after accounting for inflation. It left the median adult with assets of just over £95,500 last year, making the British a touch richer than the French but poorer than the Dutch and the Italians.
Wealth, as measured by the value of assets such as property and stocks, has been rapidly eroded after inflation soared following the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Britain suffered a worse inflation shock than other developed nations as energy costs leapt.