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The Top 100 Companies of the World: The U.S. vs Everyone Else

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Top 100 Companies of the World vs US

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The Top 100 Companies of the World: U.S. vs Everyone

When it comes to breaking down the top 100 companies of the world, the United States still commands the largest slice of the pie.

Throughout the 20th century and before globalization reached its current peaks, American companies made the country an economic powerhouse and the source of a majority of global market value.

But even as countries like China have made headway with multi-billion dollar companies of their own, and the marketโ€™s most important sectors have shifted, the U.S. has managed to stay on top.

How do the top 100 companies of the world stack up? This visualization pulls from PwC’s annual ranking of the world’s largest companies, using market capitalization data from May 2021.

Where are the Worldโ€™s Largest Companies Located?

The worldโ€™s top 100 companies account for a massive $31.7 trillion in market cap, but that wealth is not distributed evenly.

Between companies, thereโ€™s a wide range of market caps. For example, the difference between the worldโ€™s largest company (Apple) and the 100th largest (Anheuser-Busch) is $1.9 trillion.

And between countries, that divide becomes even more stark. Of the 16 countries with companies making the top 100 ranking, the U.S. accounts for 65% of the total market cap value.

Location# of CompaniesMarket Capitalization (May 2021)
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States59$20.55T
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China14$4.19T
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Saudi Arabia1$1.92T
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Switzerland3$0.82T
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands3$0.58T
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan3$0.56T
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France2$0.55T
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany3$0.46T
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea1$0.43T
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom3$0.43T
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India2$0.34T
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช Ireland2$0.34T
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia1$0.16T
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Denmark1$0.16T
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada1$0.13T
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgium1$0.13T

Compared to the U.S., other once-prominent markets like Japan, France, and the UK have seen their share of the worldโ€™s top 100 companies falter over the years. In fact, all of Europe accounts for just $3.46 trillion or 11% of the total market cap value of the list.

A major reason for the U.S. dominance in market values is a shift in important industries and contributors. Of the worldโ€™s top 100 companies, 52% were based in either technology or consumer discretionary, and the current largest players like Apple, Alphabet, Tesla, and Walmart are all American-based.

The Top 100 Companies of the World: Competition From China

The biggest and most impressive competitor to the U.S. is China.

With 14 companies of its own in the worldโ€™s top 100, China accounted for $4.19 trillion or 13% of the top 100โ€™s total market cap value. That includes two of the top 10 firms by market cap, Tencent and Alibaba.

CompanyCountrySectorMarket Cap (May 2021)
#1AppleUnited StatesTechnology$2,051B
#2Saudi AramcoSaudi ArabiaEnergy$1,920B
#3MicrosoftUnited StatesTechnology$1,778B
#4AmazonUnited StatesConsumer Discretionary$1,558B
#5AlphabetUnited StatesTechnology$1,393B
#6FacebookUnited StatesTechnology$839B
#7TencentChinaTechnology$753B
#8TeslaUnited StatesConsumer Discretionary$641B
#9AlibabaChinaConsumer Discretionary$615B
#10Berkshire HathwayUnited StatesFinancials$588B
#11TSMCChinaTechnology$534B
#12VisaUnited StatesIndustrials$468B
#13JPMorgan ChaseUnited StatesFinancials$465B
#14Johnson & JohnsonUnited StatesHealth Care$433B
#15Samsung ElectronicsSouth KoreaTechnology$431B
#16Kweichow MoutaiChinaConsumer Staples$385B
#17WalmartUnited StatesConsumer Discretionary$383B
#18MastercardUnited StatesIndustrials$354B
#19UnitedHealth GroupUnited StatesHealth Care$352B
#20LVMH Moรซt HennessyFranceConsumer Discretionary$337B
#21Walt Disney CoUnited StatesConsumer Discretionary$335B
#22Bank of AmericaUnited StatesFinancials$334B
#23Procter & GambleUnited StatesConsumer Staples$333B
#24NvidiaUnited StatesTechnology$331B
#25Home DepotUnited StatesConsumer Discretionary$329B
#26Nestle SASwitzerlandConsumer Staples$322B
#27ICBCChinaFinancials$290B
#28Paypal HoldingsUnited StatesIndustrials$284B
#29Roche HoldingsSwitzerlandHealth Care$283B
#30Intel United StatesTechnology$261B
#31ASML Holding NVNetherlandsTechnology$255B
#32Toyota MotorJapanConsumer Discretionary$254B
#33ComcastUnited StatesTelecommunication$248B
#34Verizon CommunicationsUnited StatesTelecommunication$241B
#35Exxon MobilUnited StatesEnergy$236B
#36NetflixUnited StatesConsumer Discretionary$231B
#37AdobeUnited StatesTechnology$228B
#38Coca-Cola Co United StatesConsumer Staples$227B
#39MeituanChinaTechnology$226B
#40Ping AnChinaFinancials$219B
#41Cisco SystemsUnited StatesTelecommunication$218B
#42AT&TUnited StatesFinancials$216B
#43L'OrรฉalFranceConsumer Discretionary$215B
#44China Construction BankChinaFinancials$213B
#45Abbott LabsUnited StatesHealth Care$212B
#46Novartis AGSwitzerlandHealth Care$212B
#47NikeUnited StatesConsumer Discretionary$209B
#48Oracle United StatesTechnology$202B
#49PfizerUnited StatesHealth Care$202B
#50ChevronUnited StatesOil & Gas$202B
#51China Merchants BankChinaFinancials$196B
#52PepsiCoUnited StatesConsumer Staples$195B
#53Salesforce.comUnited StatesTechnology$195B
#54Merck & CoUnited StatesHealth Care$195B
#55AbbVieUnited StatesHealth Care$191B
#56BroadcomUnited StatesTechnology$189B
#57Prosus NVNetherlandsTechnology$181B
#58Reliance IndustriesIndiaEnergy$180B
#59Thermo Fisher ScientificUnited StatesHealth Care$180B
#60Eli Lilly & CoUnited StatesHealth Care$179B
#61Agricultural Bank of ChinaChinaFinancials$178B
#62Softbank GroupJapanTelecommunication$176B
#63Accenture IrelandIndustrials$176B
#64Texas InstrumentsUnited StatesTechnology$174B
#65McDonaldsUnited StatesConsumer Discretionary$167B
#66Volkswagen AGGermanyConsumer Discretionary$165B
#67BHP GroupAustraliaBasic Materials$163B
#68Wells Fargo & CoUnited StatesFinancials$162B
#69Tata Consultancy ServicesIndiaTechnology$161B
#70DanaherUnited StatesHealth Care$160B
#71Novo NordiskDenmarkHealth Care$160B
#72Medtronic IrelandHealth Care$159B
#73Wuliangye YibinChinaConsumer Staples$159B
#74Costco WholesaleUnited StatesConsumer Discretionary$156B
#75T-Mobile USUnited StatesTelecommunication$156B
#76CitigroupUnited StatesFinancials$152B
#77HoneywellUnited StatesIndustrials$151B
#78QualcommUnited StatesTechnology$151B
#79SAP SEGermanyTechnology$151B
#80BoeingUnited StatesIndustrials$149B
#81Royal Dutch Shell NetherlandsOil & Gas$148B
#82NextEra EnergyUnited StatesUtilities$148B
#83United Parcel ServiceUnited StatesIndustrials$148B
#84Union PACUnited StatesIndustrials$148B
#85Unilever United KingdomConsumer Staples$147B
#86AIA ChinaFinancials$147B
#87LindeUnited KingdomBasic Materials$146B
#88AmgenUnited StatesHealth Care$144B
#89Bristol Myers SquibbUnited StatesHealth Care$141B
#90Siemens AGGermanyIndustrials$140B
#91Bank of ChinaChinaFinancials$139B
#92Philip MorrisUnited StatesConsumer Staples$138B
#93Lowe's CompaniesUnited StatesConsumer Discretionary$136B
#94Charter CommunicationsUnited StatesTelecommunication$135B
#95China MobileChinaTelecommunication$134B
#96Sony GroupJapanConsumer Discretionary$132B
#97AstrazenecaUnited KingdomHealth Care$131B
#98Royal Bank of CanadaCanadaFinancials$131B
#99StarbucksUnited StatesConsumer Discretionary$129B
#100Anheuser-BuschBelgiumConsumer Staples$128B

Impressively, Chinaโ€™s rise in market value isnโ€™t limited to well-known tech and consumer companies. The countryโ€™s second biggest contributing industry to the top 100 firms was finance, once also the most valuable sector in the U.S. (currently 4th behind tech, consumer discretionary, and health care).

Other notable countries on the list include Saudi Arabia and its state-owned oil and gas giant Saudi Aramco, which is the third largest company in the world. Despite only having one company in the top 100, Saudi Arabia had the third-largest share of the top 100โ€™s total market cap value.

As Europe continues to lose ground year-over-year and the rest of Asia struggles to keep up, the top 100 companies might become increasingly concentrated in just the U.S. and China. The question is, will the imbalance of global market value start to even out, or become even bigger?

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Countries

Charted: The Number of Democracies Globally

How many democracies does the world have? This visual shows the change since 1945 and the top nations becoming more (and less) democratic.

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Charted: The Number of Democracies Globally

The end of World War II in 1945 was a turning point for democracies around the world.

Before this critical turning point in geopolitics, democracies made up only a small number of the world’s countries, both legally and in practice. However, over the course of the next six decades, the number of democratic nations would more than quadruple.

Interestingly, studies have found that this trend has recently reversed as of the 2010s, with democracies and non-democracies now in a deadlock.

In this visualization, Staffan Landin uses data from V-DEMโ€™s Electoral Democratic Index (EDI) to highlight the changing face of global politics over the past two decades and the nations that contributed the most to this change.

The Methodology

V-DEM’s EDI attempts to measure democratic development in a comprehensive way, through the contributions of 3,700 experts from countries around the world.

Instead of relying on each nation’s legally recognized system of government, the EDI analyzes the level of electoral democracy in countries on a range of indicators, including:

  • Free and fair elections
  • Rule of law
  • Alternative sources of information and association
  • Freedom of expression

Countries are assigned a score on a scale from 0 to 1, with higher scores indicating a higher level of democracy. Each is also categorized into four types of functional government, from liberal and electoral democracies to electoral and closed autocracies.

Which Countries Have Declined the Most?

The EDI found that numerous countries around the world saw declines in democracy over the past two decades. Here are the 10 countries that saw the steepest decline in EDI score since 2010:

CountryDemocracy Index (2010)Democracy Index (2022)Points Lost
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Hungary0.800.46-34
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland0.890.59-30
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ Serbia0.610.34-27
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Turkey0.550.28-27
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India0.710.44-27
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Mali0.510.25-26
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand0.440.20-24
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ Afghanistan0.380.16-22
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Brazil0.880.66-22
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ Benin0.640.42-22

Central and Eastern Europe was home to three of the countries seeing the largest declines in democracy. Hungary, Poland, and Serbia lead the table, with Hungary and Serbia in particular dropping below scores of 0.5.

Some of the world’s largest countries by population also decreased significantly, including India and Brazil. Across most of the top 10, the “freedom of expression” indicator was hit particularly hard, with notable increases in media censorship to be found in Afghanistan and Brazil.

Countries Becoming More Democratic

Here are the 10 countries that saw the largest increase in EDI score since 2010:

CountryDemocracy Index (2010)Democracy Index (2022)Points Gained
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Armenia0.340.74+40
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฏ Fiji0.140.40+26
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ The Gambia0.250.50+25
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡จ Seychelles0.450.67+22
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Madagascar0.280.48+20
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ณ Tunisia0.400.56+16
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Sri Lanka0.420.57+15
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ผ Guinea-Bissau0.410.56+15
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Moldova0.590.74+15
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ต Nepal0.460.59+13

Armenia, Fiji, and Seychelles saw significant improvement in the autonomy of their electoral management bodies in the last 10 years. Partially as a result, both Armenia and Seychelles have seen their scores rise above 0.5.

The Gambia also saw great improvement across many election indicators, including the quality of voter registries, vote buying, and election violence. It was one of five African countries to make the top 10 most improved democracies.

With the total number of democracies and non-democracies almost tied over the past four years, it is hard to predict the political atmosphere in the future.

Want to know more about democracy in today’s world? Check out our global breakdown of each country’s democratic score in Mapped: The State of Global Democracy in 2022.
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