America’s economy not in decline — Obama

President Barack Obama has vigorously defended his legacy while striking an optimistic note for America's future in his final State of the Union address.

He criticised the negative tone of the current presidential race, arguing the US has the "strongest, most durable economy in the world".

"Anyone claiming that America's economy is in decline is peddling fiction," Mr Obama told lawmakers in Washington.

Republican presidential hopefuls attacked many of his assertions.

And South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said in the party's official response his record "had fallen short of his soaring words".

Mr Obama's speech to Congress highlighted what he saw as his achievements in office, such as health reform.

This will be an address remembered not for its policy prescriptions, but for its upbeat assessment of how much better America is today than when Barack Obama came to office, BBC North America correspondent has said.

He adds that with just a year to go and a Republican Congress, there is neither the time nor the votes to get much done.

"For my final address to this chamber, I don't want to talk just about the next year. I want to focus on the next five years, 10 years, and beyond," President Obama said.

According to the Republican presidential hopefuls, “The State Of The Union speech was one of the most boring, rambling and non-substantive I have heard in a long time," tweeted frontrunner Donald Trump.

For Ted Cruz the speech was "less a State of the Union and more a state of denial".

"While Isis [Islamic State] is beheading people and burning them in cages he [President Obama] says climate change is our greatest threat," said Marco Rubio in a video response.

"Despite his rhetoric, Americans know that our economy is lagging, our leadership in the world is waning, and the very character of our nation is threatened," wrote Carly Fiorina on Facebook.