Scotland's deficit is the equivalent of more than half the entire UK's thanks to public spending being £1,600 higher per person, according to official figures that damage Nicola Sturgeon’s independence case.

The annual Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) showed total public spending in Scotland was £75.3 billion in 2018/19 but the country only raised £62.7 billion in revenues.

The 2018/19 report showed the £12.6 billion deficit was the equivalent of more than half the £23.5 billion recorded for the entire UK, despite Scotland having only 8.3 per cent of the population.

It is equivalent to seven per cent of Scotland's GDP, a slight improvement on the previous year but more than six times higher than the UK-wide figure of only 1.1 per cent.

Scotland's deficit also dwarfs every EU member state, with Cyprus (4.8 per cent) and Romania (three per cent) having the next largest deficits.

Derek Mackay, the SNP's Finance Minister, insisted Scots getting £1,661 per head more public spending than the UK average while paying £307 less tax did not represent a good deal.

But the Tories and Alister Jack, the new Scottish Secretary, said that together the two figures combined to form a "Union dividend" of almost £2,000 per person.