When Italy rejigged its method of counting gdp in 1987, the updated figures saw it edge ahead of Britain. Il sorpasso, as the overtaking was called, was trumpeted in Rome. Mexico has kept quieter about its recent accounting revision, but it also involves a big jump. After a new methodology was introduced in 2008, official gdp figures were boosted by nearly 15%. In 2007, the latest year for which both old and new indices are available, income per head was equivalent to $9,694 per year, not $8,445 as the old method suggested.
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