Party says new analysis of OECD figures show an independent Scotland would be 14th richest country in the economic bloc

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Scottish wealth per head is more than £2,300 higher than in UK as a whole and outstrips major economies such as France, Japan and Italy, according to the SNP.

New Scottish National Party analysis of figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), released in March, "underlines how wealthy a country Scotland is", the party said.

Scotland's gross domestic product (GDP) per head, including a geographic share of UK oil, is about £23,300 – some £2,300 higher than the UK figure, the SNP said. This would make Scotland the 14th richest country in the OECD, the party added.

Scotland's GDP per head is about £1,600 higher than France, £2,500 higher than Japan and £3,200 higher than Italy, the SNP said.

SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson, the convener of Holyrood's finance committee, said: "Scotland is an immensely wealthy country and these figures only underline just how that wealth compares internationally.

"Scotland's GDP per head is significantly better than major economies like France, Japan and the UK as a whole.

"Clearly, Scotland more than has what it takes to be a successful, independent country. The opportunity that a yes vote brings is the chance to use that wealth so that it benefits people across Scotland, instead of propping up Treasury balance sheets to waste on things like Trident nuclear weapons.

"Where Westminster has been content to see poverty spiral out of control amid brutal welfare cuts, a yes vote in September gives us the chance to harness Scotland's resources to the benefit of people living here.

"A yes vote gives us the tools we need to make Scotland the fairer, more prosperous country we all want to live in."

A Better Together spokesman said: "The experts at the impartial Institute for Fiscal Studies have been very clear that a separate Scotland would need to make around £6bn of cuts to things like benefits, pensions and our NHS in the first few years after separation. It's those with the least who would lose the most with independence."