Economy
The World’s Tech Giants, Compared to the Size of Economies
It’s no secret that tech giants have exploded in value over the last few years, but the scale can be hard to comprehend.
Through wide-scaling market penetration, smart diversification, and the transformation of products into services, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google have reached market capitalizations well above $1.5 trillion.
To help us better understand these staggering numbers, a recent study at Mackeeper took the market capitalization of multiple tech giants and compared them with the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of countries.
Editor’s note: While these numbers are interesting to compare, it’s worth noting that they represent different things. Market cap is the total value of shares outstanding in a publicly-traded company and gives an indication of total valuation, and GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced by a country in an entire year.
Companies vs. Countries: Tech Giants
If Apple’s market capitalization was equal to a country’s annual GDP, it might just be in the G7.
At a market cap of more than $2.1 trillion, Apple’s market capitalization is larger than 96% of country GDPs, a list that includes Italy, Brazil, Canada, and Russia.
In fact, only seven countries in the world have a higher GDP than Apple’s market cap.
Further back is Microsoft, which would be the 10th richest country in the world if market cap was equivalent to GDP.
With a market cap of more than $1.9 trillion, Microsoft’s value is larger than the GDP of global powerhouses Brazil, Canada, Russia, and South Korea.
Though all of the tech giants fared well during the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps none have stood to benefit as much as Amazon.
With online retail and web services both in high demand, Amazon’s market cap has grown to $1.7 trillion, larger than 92% of country GDPs.
Other Companies “Bigger” Than Countries
Tech giants aren’t the only companies that would give countries a run for their money.
Country/Company | Nominal GDP (country) or Market Cap (company) |
---|---|
United States of America | $21,433 B |
China | $14,343 B |
Japan | $5,082 B |
Germany | $3,861 B |
India | $2,869 B |
United Kingdom | $2,829 B |
France | $2,716 B |
Apple | $2,125 B |
Italy | $2,004 B |
Microsoft | $1,942 B |
Saudi Aramco | $1,888 B |
Brazil | $1,840 B |
Canada | $1,736 B |
Russia | $1700 B |
Amazon | $1,688 B |
Alphabet | $1,656 B |
South Korea | $1,647 B |
Australia | $1,397 B |
Spain | $1,393 B |
Mexico | $1,269 B |
Indonesia | $1,119 B |
$939 B | |
Netherlands | $907 B |
Saudi Arabia | $793 B |
Turkey | $761 B |
Tencent | $736 B |
Switzerland | $703 B |
Poland | $596 B |
Saudi Arabia’s state-owned corporation Saudi Aramco also makes the list, boasting a market cap more than double the GDP of its home country.
China’s tech giant Tencent also has a market cap that towers over many country GDPs, such as those of Switzerland or Poland.
Until recently, Tencent was also ahead of fellow tech giant Facebook in market cap, but the social network has climbed ahead and almost reached $1 trillion in market capitalization.
Of course, the biggest caveat to consider with these comparisons is the difference between market cap and GDP numbers.
A company’s market cap is a proxy of its net worth in the eyes of public markets and changes constantly, while GDP measures the economic output of a country in a given year.
But companies directly and indirectly affect the economies of countries around the world. With international reach, wealth accumulation, and impact, it’s important to consider just how much wealth and power these companies have.
Economy
G20 Inflation Rates: Feb 2024 vs COVID Peak
We visualize inflation rates across G20 countries as of Feb 2024, in the context of their COVID-19 pandemic peak.
How Far Have Inflation Rates Fallen Across the G20?
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
A major economic consequence that arose in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic was high inflation. In many countries, inflation rates reached double-digits, which is significantly higher than the 2-3% typically targeted by central banks.
Generally speaking, an extended period of fast rising prices is not optimal because it erodes the purchasing power of money. This makes everyday essentials like groceries, rent, and gas more expensive.
To see how inflation is currently faring, we’ve visualized annual inflation rates across G20 countries as of February 2024, in the context of their pandemic peak. This data was sourced from Trading Economics and can also be found in the table below.
Country | Inflation (%, Feb 2024) | Inflation (%, COVID peak) | Date of Peak |
---|---|---|---|
🇦🇷 Argentina | 276.0 | -- | -- |
🇹🇷 Turkey | 67.1 | 85.5 | Oct 2022 |
🇷🇺 Russia | 7.7 | 17.8 | Apr 2022 |
🇿🇦 South Africa | 5.6 | 7.8 | Jul 2022 |
🇮🇳 India | 5.1 | 7.8 | Apr 2022 |
🇧🇷 Brazil | 4.5 | 12.1 | Apr 2022 |
🇲🇽 Mexico | 4.4 | 8.7 | Sept 2022 |
🇦🇺 Australia | 4.1 | 7.8 | Dec 2022 |
🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 3.4 | 11.1 | Oct 2022 |
🇺🇸 United States | 3.2 | 9.1 | Jun 2022 |
🇰🇷 South Korea | 3.1 | 6.3 | Jul 2022 |
🇫🇷 France | 3.0 | 6.3 | Feb 2023 |
🇨🇦 Canada | 2.8 | 8.1 | Jun 2022 |
🇯🇵 Japan | 2.8 | 4.3 | Jan 2023 |
🇪🇸 Spain | 2.8 | 10.8 | Jul 2022 |
🇮🇩 Indonesia | 2.8 | 6 | Sept 2022 |
🇩🇪 Germany | 2.5 | 8.8 | Nov 2022 |
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 1.8 | 6.2 | Jun 2021 |
🇮🇹 Italy | 0.8 | 11.8 | Oct 2022 |
🇨🇳 China | 0.7 | 2.8 | Sept 2022 |
Notes: Spain is a permanent guest of the G20. Australia’s latest inflation rate is as of Dec 2023.
Unlike other G20 nations, Argentina’s inflation rate has only gone up since the pandemic ended. This is largely due to the country’s history of printing money to compensate for government overspending.
One area hit particularly hard is food prices. According to a local consultancy, the price of beef to consumers rose by 40% to 70% between July to August 2023.
Learn More About Inflation in 2024
If you want to see more graphics on inflation, check out this global map that visualizes inflation forecasts for every country in 2024.
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