Cuba has scrapped the standard method used to measure economic activity and replaced it with its own formula that substantially boosts the value of its economy and performance, while making a statistical comparison with other countries practically impossible.

President Fidel Castro, who has announced that the economy is growing at more than 9 per cent, insists the standard method was designed for capitalist societies and Cuba's "socially sustainable GDP" formula better measures progress in his socialist land where no value is assigned to readily available social services and wages are low due to subsidised utilities and some basic products.