China’s economy was the sixth biggest in the world last year, Beijing announced on Tuesday, unveiling a 16.8 per cent upward revision to official gross domestic product that pushed Italy into seventh place.

The revision, based on a nationwide census that recorded previously ignored activity in the fast-growing service sector, put China’s GDP in 2004 at Rmb15,988bn ($1,983bn, €1,652bn, £1,119bn).