The stat that shows how badly the UK economy is doing right now

As Britons digest the chancellor's autumn statement, one statistic highlights the scale of the problem facing the UK.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of the size and health of a country's economy over a period of time - and the UK does not compare favourably to other major nations.

Yahoo News looks at how much the UK is struggling against other countries on the day Jeremy Hunt told millions they face tax hikes, pay freezes and soaring inflation.

'Rebuild our economy'

Jeremy Hunt's autumn statement set out a range of tax rises and spending cuts in a bid to “tackle the cost-of-living crisis” and “rebuild our economy”.

The chancellor told MPs his three priorities were “stability, growth and public services”, as he confirmed that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) believe the economy is “now in recession”.

Hunt blamed global economic pressures for the "storm" facing the UK, adding: “There may be a recession made in Russia but there is a recovery made in Britain.”

It comes as the UK faces inflation at a 41-year high, rising interest rates and forecasts for a steep economic downturn next year.

The chancellor made his statement just days after ONS data revealed the economy shrank by 0.2% between July and September, with the Bank of England warning the country faces the longest recession on record.

When compared to other major economies, the picture in the UK even more concerning.

Crucially, data shows that the UK is the only G7 nation where the economy is smaller than it was before the COVID pandemic.

In Q3 (July-September) of this year, the UK economy was 0.4% smaller compared to the last quarter of 2019.

In contrast, the US economy has grown by 4.2% in this time.

Other European G7 nations have seen modest growth, with the Italian economy growing by 1.8%, France by 1,1% and Germany by 0.2%.

In addition, the UK was the only G7 economy to shrink in Q3 2022, contracting by 0.2% compared to the previous three months.

In contract, the eurozone showed growth of 0.2%, with similar figures in France (0.2%) and Germany (0.3%), while the US GDP grew by 0.6% in the same period.

In 2021 as a whole, the UK's economy showed the highest growth in the G7, with GDP growing by 7.5%.

However, this is largely due to the fact that its economy declined the most in 2022, contracting by a record -11%.

According to forecasts released by the OBR to accompany the autumn statement, the UK economy will shrink by a further 1.4% in 2023, before growing by 1.3% in 2024.

The analysis warns GDP will not return to its pre-pandemic level until late 2024.

The OBR further warns that living standards are set for the largest fall on record this year.

Real incomes per person are set to fall by 7% over the two years to 2023-24, wiping out the previous eight years’ of income growth.