New Delhi: As the government in London struggles to adjust to a harsh cost-of-living shock, Britain has fallen behind India to become the sixth largest economy in the world.

In the final three months of 2021, the former British colony overtook the UK to take over as the world’s fifth-largest economy. India increased its lead in the first quarter of the computation, which is based on US dollars, according to IMF GDP data.

For the next prime minister, the UK’s slip in global rankings is an unwanted backdrop. On Monday, members of the Conservative Party will elect Boris Johnson’s replacement. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is predicted to defeat former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in the final round of voting.

The winning candidate would lead a country that is experiencing its highest rate of inflation in four decades as well as growing chances of a recession that the Bank of England predicts could stretch well into 2024.

The Indian economy, on the other hand, is anticipated to expand by more than 7% this year. Indian stocks have recently had a global-beating recovery, moving their weighting into second place in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, only behind China’s.

The size of the Indian economy, on an adjusted basis and using the dollar exchange rate on the last day of the relevant quarter, was $854.7 billion from January through March. UK was $816 billion on the same basis.

A comparison of GDPs of the top economies of the world