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Northern Ireland's economic output per-person is similar to that of Poland and lower than Lithuania’s,

The analysis looks at GDP per capita, which is sometimes used as a way to roughly compare standards of living in different countries.

It adjusts for price differences between countries in an attempt to produce more comparable figures.

The department's work builds on analysis by a European economics think-tank (ECIPE) which compared GDP per capita in EU countries and US states.

It extends the comparison to include Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and other non-EU countries like Norway and Iceland.

It found that Wales has a lower GDP per capita than NI, at a level similar to Croatia, while Scotland is higher at a level, just below Italy.

The UK as a whole has a GDP per capita just above the EU average.

When it comes to comparisons with US states, Northern Ireland and Wales are both behind Mississippi, which is the poorest US state.

The analysis acknowledges that cross-country comparisons of this sort are imperfect and that price adjustments generally inflate the GDP of poorer nations.

Additionally, GDP per capita is not a useful way to compare the Republic of Ireland to other countries as its GDP is heavily distorted by the activities of multinational companies.

Ireland’s official statistics agency developed an alternative measure of national income, modified GNI, which strips out those multinational effects.

The DfE notes analysis by Ireland’s Central Bank which found that when those distortions are removed Ireland’s relative international position is somewhere between 8th and 12th in the EU.