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
Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve
Public trust in the Federal Reserve chair has hit its lowest point in 20 years. Get the details in this infographic.
The Briefing
- Gallup conducts an annual poll to gauge the U.S. public’s trust in the Federal Reserve
- After rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, public trust has fallen to a 20-year low
Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve
Each year, Gallup conducts a survey of American adults on various economic topics, including the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve.
More specifically, respondents are asked how much confidence they have in the current Fed chairman to do or recommend the right thing for the U.S. economy. We’ve visualized these results from 2001 to 2023 to see how confidence levels have changed over time.
Methodology and Results
The data used in this infographic is also listed in the table below. Percentages reflect the share of respondents that have either a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence.
| Year | Fed chair | % Great deal or Fair amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Jerome Powell | 36% |
| 2022 | Jerome Powell | 43% |
| 2021 | Jerome Powell | 55% |
| 2020 | Jerome Powell | 58% |
| 2019 | Jerome Powell | 50% |
| 2018 | Jerome Powell | 45% |
| 2017 | Janet Yellen | 45% |
| 2016 | Janet Yellen | 38% |
| 2015 | Janet Yellen | 42% |
| 2014 | Janet Yellen | 37% |
| 2013 | Ben Bernanke | 42% |
| 2012 | Ben Bernanke | 39% |
| 2011 | Ben Bernanke | 41% |
| 2010 | Ben Bernanke | 44% |
| 2009 | Ben Bernanke | 49% |
| 2008 | Ben Bernanke | 47% |
| 2007 | Ben Bernanke | 50% |
| 2006 | Ben Bernanke | 41% |
| 2005 | Alan Greenspan | 56% |
| 2004 | Alan Greenspan | 61% |
| 2003 | Alan Greenspan | 65% |
| 2002 | Alan Greenspan | 69% |
| 2001 | Alan Greenspan | 74% |
Data for 2023 collected April 3-25, with this statement put to respondents: “Please tell me how much confidence you have [in the Fed chair] to recommend the right thing for the economy.”
We can see that trust in the Federal Reserve has fluctuated significantly in recent years.
For example, under Alan Greenspan, trust was initially high due to the relative stability of the economy. The burst of the dotcom bubble—which some attribute to Greenspan’s easy credit policies—resulted in a sharp decline.
On the flip side, public confidence spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was likely due to Jerome Powell’s decisive actions to provide support to the U.S. economy throughout the crisis.
Measures implemented by the Fed include bringing interest rates to near zero, quantitative easing (buying government bonds with newly-printed money), and emergency lending programs to businesses.
Confidence Now on the Decline
After peaking at 58%, those with a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the Fed chair have tumbled to 36%, the lowest number in 20 years.
This is likely due to Powell’s hard stance on fighting post-pandemic inflation, which has involved raising interest rates at an incredible speed. While these rate hikes may be necessary, they also have many adverse effects:
- Negative impact on the stock market
- Increases the burden for those with variable-rate debts
- Makes mortgages and home buying less affordable
Higher rates have also prompted many U.S. tech companies to shrink their workforces, and have been a factor in the regional banking crisis, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
Where does this data come from?
Source: Gallup (2023)
Data Notes: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted April 3-25, 2023, with a random sample of –1,013—adults, ages 18+, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on this sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. See source for details.
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