The average person in Britain will this year have a greater income than their US counterpart for the first time in over a century, a study finds.

According to analyst Oxford Economics, UK GDP will reach £23,500 per head of the population in 2008, compared with £23,250 per capita in the US.

UK GDP per head will also be higher than in Germany (£21,665) and France (£21,700) in 2008.

Oxford Economics managing director Adrian Cooper said: "The last 15 years have seen a dramatic change in the UK's economic performance and its position in the world economy.

Adrian Cooper, Oxford Economics: "The last 15 years have seen a dramatic change in the UK's economic performance and its position in the world economy."

"No longer are we the 'sick man of Europe'. Not only have we left Germany and France in our wake our calculations reveal that UK living standards are now outstripping those of the US."

In 1993, following the last major recession and the UK’s ejection from the ERM, GDP per capita in the UK was 34 per cent lower than in the US, 33 per cent lower than in Germany and 26 per cent lower than in France, Oxford Economics said.

The firm attributes the UK's GDP per capita increase to "the long period of sustained strong growth that the UK has enjoyed since 1993".

It also claims that the improved UK position has been aided by the growing strength of sterling.

Mr Copper said: "The UK has been catching up steadily with living standards in the US since 2001 - so, it is a well-established trend rather than simply the result of currency fluctuations."

However, although each member of the UK population now has more money in their pockets than their US counterpart, Americans still have stronger purchasing power, Oxford Economics noted.

"The American consumer still has far stronger purchasing power than their opposite number in the UK because of the relatively lower cost of goods and services," Mr Copper added.