Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a convenient way of measuring and comparing the size of national economies. Annual GDP represents the market value of all goods and services produced within a country in a year. Put differently:
GDP = consumption + investment + government spending + (exports – imports)
Although the economies of countries like China and India are growing at an incredible rate, the US remains the nation with the highest GDP in the world – and by far: US GDP is projected to be $13,22 trillion (or $13.220 billion) in 2007. That’s almost as much as the economies of the next four (Japan, Germany, China, UK) combined.
Pakistan, for example, has a GDP that’s slightly higher than Israel’s – but Pakistan has a population of about 170 million, while Israel is only 7 million. The US states those economies are compared with (Arkansas and Oregon, respectively) are much closer to each other in population: 2,7 million and 3,4 million.
And yet, while a per capita GDP might give a good indication of the average wealth of citizens, a ranking of the economies on this map does serve two interesting purposes: it shows the size of US states’ economies relative to each other (California is the biggest, Wyoming the smallest), and it links those sizes with foreign economies (which are therefore also ranked: Mexico’s and Russia’s economies are about equal size, Ireland’s is twice as big as New Zealand’s).
Here’s a run-down of the 50 states, plus Washington, D.C.:
1. California, it is often said, would be the world’s sixth- or seventh-largest economy if it was a separate country. Actually, that would be the eighth, according to this map, as France (with a GDP of $2,15 trillion) is #8 on the aforementioned list.
2. Texas’ economy is significantly smaller, exactly half of California’s, as its GDP compares to that of Canada (#10, $1,08 trillion).
3. Florida also does well, with its GDP comparable to Asian tiger South Korea’s (#13 at $786 billion).
4. Illinois – Mexico (GDP #14 at $741 billion)
5. New Jersey – Russia (GDP #15 at $733 billion)
6. Ohio – Australia (GDP #16 at $645 billion)
7. New York – Brazil (GDP #17 at $621 billion)
8. Pennsylvania – Netherlands (GDP #18 at $613 billion)
9. Georgia – Switzerland (GDP #19 at $387 billion)
10. North Carolina – Sweden (GDP #20 at $371 billion)
11. Massachusetts – Belgium (GDP #21 at $368 billion)
12. Washington – Turkey (GDP #22 at $358 billion)
13. Virginia – Austria (GDP #24 at $309 billion)
14. Tennessee – Saudi Arabia (GDP #25 at $286 billion)
15. Missouri – Poland (GDP #26 at $265 billion)
16. Louisiana – Indonesia (GDP #27 at $264 billion)
17. Minnesota – Norway (GDP #28 at $262 billion)
18. Indiana – Denmark (GDP #29 at $256 billion)
19. Connecticut – Greece (GDP #30 at $222 billion)
20. Michigan – Argentina (GDP #31 at $210 billion)
21. Nevada – Ireland (GDP #32 at $203 billion)
22. Wisconsin – South Africa (GDP #33 at $200 billion)
23. Arizona – Thailand (GDP #34 at $197 billion)
24. Colorado – Finland (GDP #35 at $196 billion)
25. Alabama – Iran (GDP #36 at $195 billion)
26. Maryland – Hong Kong (#37 at $187 billion GDP)
27. Kentucky – Portugal (GDP #38 at $177 billion)
28. Iowa – Venezuela (GDP #39 at $148 billion)
29. Kansas – Malaysia (GDP #40 at $132 billion)
30. Arkansas – Pakistan (GDP #41 at $124 billion)
31. Oregon – Israel (GDP #42 at $122 billion)
32. South Carolina – Singapore (GDP #43 at $121 billion)
33. Nebraska – Czech Republic (GDP #44 at $119 billion)
34. New Mexico – Hungary (GDP #45 at $113 billion)
35. Mississippi – Chile (GDP #48 at $100 billion)
36. Washington, D.C. – New Zealand (#49 at $99 billion GDP)
37. Oklahoma – Philippines (GDP #50 at $98 billion)
38. West Virginia – Algeria (GDP #51 at $92 billion)
39. Hawaii – Nigeria (GDP #53 at $83 billion)
40. Idaho – Ukraine (GDP #54 at $81 billion)
41. Delaware – Romania (#55 at $79 billion GDP)
42. Utah – Peru (GDP #56 at $76 billion)
43. New Hampshire – Bangladesh (GDP #57 at $69 billion)
44. Maine – Morocco (GDP #59 at $57 billion)
45. Rhode Island – Vietnam (GDP #61 at $48 billion)
46. South Dakota – Croatia (GDP #66 at $37 billion)
47. Montana – Tunisia (GDP #69 at $33 billion)
48. North Dakota – Ecuador (GDP #70 at $32 billion)
49. Alaska – Belarus (GDP #73 at $29 billion)
50. Vermont – Dominican Republic (GDP #81 at $20 billion)
51. Wyoming – Uzbekistan (GDP #101 at $11 billion)
Have you compared the size of Hawaii to Nigeria. It shows the gap between rich and poor countries is till as great as ever. maybe Hawaii could share some of its money with Nigeria? That was what struck me fiorst whe n I was reading your post. The sizes of the countries compared to states.
I'm surprised that Alaska is so small given the amount of oil and gas.
It would be interesting to recast this map for something like potential for growth or economic potential. I suspect that Texas and Canada, both industrialised Western economies would grow at about the same rate whereas New York one of the oldest and most developed states would grow more slowly than Brazil.
I'd also like (for a laugh) like to see someone try to match up the US states with the country they most resemble socially. Alabama and Iran seems to work quite well as does Oregon and Israel.
I'm surprised that Alaska is so small given the amount of oil and gas.
It would be interesting to recast this map for something like potential for growth or economic potential. I suspect that Texas and Canada, both industrialised Western economies would grow at about the same rate whereas New York one of the oldest and most developed states would grow more slowly than Brazil.
I'd also like (for a laugh) like to see someone try to match up the US states with the country they most resemble socially. Alabama and Iran seems to work quite well as does Oregon and Israel.
I'm surprised that Alaska is so small given the amount of oil and gas.
It would be interesting to recast this map for something like potential for growth or economic potential. I suspect that Texas and Canada, both industrialised Western economies would grow at about the same rate whereas New York one of the oldest and most developed states would grow more slowly than Brazil.
I'd also like (for a laugh) like to see someone try to match up the US states with the country they most resemble socially. Alabama and Iran seems to work quite well as does Oregon and Israel.
GM
Zia's from Alabama -- she may beg to disagree.
I reckon I'm safe enough - if she really tears me off a strip I'll proved my point.
Have you compared the size of Hawaii to Nigeria. It shows the gap between rich and poor countries is till as great as ever. maybe Hawaii could share some of its money with Nigeria? That was what struck me fiorst whe n I was reading your post. The sizes of the countries compared to states.
I've had the misfortune of visiting Nigeria on business. It is a very wealthy country in terms of natural resources, i.e., oil, a member of OPEC, with the most skewed distribution of income and wealth I have ever witnessed -- and I've been to most of West Africa and other squalid places in the world. A handful of Nigerians control almost all the wealth. Nigeria is also cursed with endemic government corruption.
And if all that is not enough, Nigerians are highly superstitious people. When I was last there in the late 1980s, my assigned bodyguard -- an intelligent enough chap -- warned me never to pick up money in the street or shake people's hands lest I lose my penis. Evidently, witch doctors hook you in through money they leave on the street which you pick up or by a handshake and then steal your penis, which is returned only after you pay a hefty ransom. I didn't believe it, but rest assured I didn't shake anyone's hand -- and they all understood why. If you think I'm making this up, see the following:
Quote:
Nigerian Genitalia Vanishing Epidemic of 1990
During 1990, an episode of "vanishing" genitalia caused widespread fear across Nigeria. Native psychiatrist Sunny Ilechukwu (1992) said that most reports of attacks involved male victims. Accusations were usually triggered by incidental body contact with a stranger in a public place, after which the "victim" would feel strange scrotum sensations and grab their genitals to confirm that they were still there. Then they would confront the person as a crowd would gather, accusing them of being a genital thief, before stripping naked to convince bystanders that their penis was really missing. Many "victims" claimed that the penis had been returned once the alarm had been raised or that, although the penis was now back, "it was shrunken and so probably a 'wrong' one or just the ghost of a penis" (95). The accused was often threatened or beaten until the penis had been "fully restored," and in some instances, the accused was beaten to death. Ilechukwu (1992, 96) described the scene in one city:
Men could be seen in the streets of Lagos holding on to their genitalia either openly or discreetly with their hands in their pockets. Women were also seen holding on to their breasts directly or discreetly by crossing the hands across the chest. It was thought that inattention and a weak will facilitated the "taking" of the penis or breasts. Vigilance and anticipatory aggression were thought to be good prophylaxis.
Social and cultural traditions contributed to the outbreak as many Nigerian ethnic groups "ascribe high potency to the external genitalia as ritual and magical objects to promote fecundity or material prosperity to the unscrupulous" (Ilechukwu 1988, 313). The belief in vanishing genitalia was not only plausible but institutionalized; many influential Nigerians expressed outrage when police released suspected genital thieves.
Site Map
FAQ
Usergroups
Search
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
Register
My Profile Space
