Scotland slips down to ninth in United Kingdom rankings

Scotland has slipped down the UK’s prosperity rankings despite a rise in average earnings, new research suggests.

London was again rated the most prosperous part of the UK, followed by the South East of England, while Scotland fell two places to ninth on the list

The third annual UK Prosperity Map produced by Barclays Wealth & Investments also rated Eastern England, Northern Ireland, and England’s East Midlands, South West, West Midlands and the North West as more prosperous than Scotland.

Wales and the Yorkshire and the Humber region were both ranked below Scotland, while North-East England was bottom of the list.

In Scotland a 1.5% increase in household expenditure reflected the rise in average earnings, which were up 2.5% to £27,032, giving the country the third-highest earnings outside London and South-East England.

While consumer spending in Scotland rose by 9% over the year, it was still 5% lower than the average for the UK.

Meanwhile, the 2017 Prosperity Map showed 30,500 millionaires lived in Scotland, with this total remaining steady.

House prices in Scotland rose 2% over the year, with the increase lagging behind the UK.

The business birth-to-death ratio – the number of jobs created by new businesses over a period against the number of positions lost as companies close down – was the lowest in Britain.