Most Valuable Corporations: We’re Number 1

The United States is the home ten out of the thirteen largest corporations in the world. Further, most of these American companies have been created during the digital age, no more than twenty to thirty years ago. The top ten corporations according to market capitalization are

• Apple (US, broad range of computer products, founded 1976);

• Microsoft (US, computer software, 1975);

• Saudi Arabian Oil (Saudi Arabia, petroleum products, 1933);

• Alphabet (US, Google, digital search services, 1998);

• Amazon (US, online consumer products, web services, video, 1994);

• NVIDIA (US, computer technology, artificial intelligence, 1993);

• Meta (US, Facebook online services, 2004);

• Tesla (US, electric vehicles, batteries, 2003);

• LVMH Moet, Hennessy, Louis Vuitton (France, luxury goods); and

• VISA (US, credit card services))

Source: “The 100 Largest Companies in the World by Market Capitalization in 2023, Statista, n.d., https://www.statista.com/statistics/263264/top-companies-in-the-world-by-market-capitalization/.

Size of the Economy: We’re Number 1

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United States ranks as number one in the world economy, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $20.49 trillion. This is nothing new. The United States has had the largest economy in the world since 1871. In second place, and growing rapidly during the twenty-first century, is China with a GDP of $13.4 trillion. The third largest economy is Japan ($4.97 trillion) and the fourth largest is Germany ($4.25 trillion)

California, the economic powerhouse in the United States, has an estimated GDP of $3.63 trillion (2022) and is about to overtake Germany as the fourth largest economy in the world. On a per capita basis, the Golden State is the second largest economy in the world. California surpassed Brazil and France in 2015 and supplanted the United Kingdom in 2017.

Source: Matthew A. Winkler, “California Poised to Overtake Germany as World’s No. 4 Economy,” Bloomberg News, October 24, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-10-24/california-poised-to-overtake-germany-as-world-s-no-4-economy

Global Waste: We’re Number 25

With its abundance and riches, the United States produces more waste per capital than any other country, with an estimated 811 kilograms (1,788 pounds) per person each year. No other country comes close. Sensoneo, a waste management consulting firm based in Slovakia, ranked South Korea as having the best global waste score (100); far behind was the United States with a score of 60.

Source: “Global Waste Index, 2022,” https://sensoneo.com/global-waste-index/

Natural Resources: We’re Number 2

The United States is fortunate to have an abundance of natural resources and on a worldwide scale is second after the Russian Federation. The US has the world’s largest proven coal reserves, and has abundant supplies of copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, rare earth elements, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber, and arable land. Yet the United States imports 100 percent of it needs for arsenic, cesium, fluorspar, gallium, graphite, Indium, manganese, niobium, rare earths, rubidium, scandium, tantalum, and yttrium.

The most resource-rich country is Russia, with large deposits of coal, timber, and rare earth metals. It contains the world’s largest proven natural gas reserves, accounting for approximately 20 percent of 2020 global totals. Further, Russia has the second largest gold reserves, about 12 percent of the world’s total. It has 12 percent of the world’s crude oil supply, and its oil reserves were the sixth largest in the world.

Saudi Arabia’s most important natural resource is oil and it has been the leading exporter of oil since the 1930s. Canada has the third largest oil deposits, after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia; it is also a leading producer of natural gas. For China, coal and rare minerals make up 90 percent of its natural resources.

Source: “United States,” The World Factbook, US Central Intelligence Agency, https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/

Megacities: New York (Number 11) and Los Angeles (Number 26)

In 1950, there were just two cities in the world—New York and Tokyo—that were considered “megacities,” that is, urban areas with populations of at least 10 million. By 2018, there were thirty-four such cities and the United Nations estimates that by 2035 there will by forty-eight megacities. America has just two megacities, New York-Newark (18.8 million) and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana (12.4 million).

Tokyo (37.39 million), Delhi (30.29 million); Shanghai (27.05 million), São Paolo (22.04 million), and Mexico City (21.78 million) top the list of megacities.

Source: “Around 2.5 Billion More People Will Be Living in Cities by 2050, Projects New UN Report,” United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs, n.d., https://www.un.org/en/desa/around-25-billion-more-people-will-be-living-cities-2050-projects-new-un-report

Population Density: We’re Number 147

Indeed, there is room to grow in the United States. Its population density is just 35 persons per square kilometer. Compare that to Bangladesh, with 1,141 persons per square kilometer or Taiwan with 615 persons per square kilometer. The American state of Iowa and Bangladesh are almost equal in land size; but Iowa has 3.1 million persons, while Bangladesh has 168 million persons.

Source: “List of Countries by Population Density,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population_density

Landmass: We’re Number 3

The United States indeed is an expansive country; it is the world’s third largest country, by landmass. Russia is by far the biggest country, with 17.098 million square kilometers (6.6 million square miles) of land and water. Canada (9.984 million square kilometers; 3.855 million square miles), the United States (9.826 million square kilometers; 3.78 million square miles), and China (9.596 million square kilometers; 3.69 million square miles) are close in size as the second, third, and fourth largest countries, respectively.

Source: CIA World Factbook, 2014. Country Comparisons: Area, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html

Size of the Economy: We’re Number 1

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United States ranks as number one in the world economy, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $20.49 trillion. This is nothing new. The United States has had the largest economy in the world since 1871. In second place, and growing rapidly during the twenty-first century, is China with a GDP of $13.4 trillion. The third largest economy is Japan ($4.97 trillion) and the fourth largest is Germany ($4.25 trillion)

California, the economic powerhouse in the United States, has an estimated GDP of $3.63 trillion (2022) and is about to overtake Germany as the fourth largest economy in the world. On a per capita basis, the Golden State is the second largest economy in the world. California surpassed Brazil and France in 2015 and supplanted the United Kingdom in 2017.

Source: Matthew A. Winkler, “California Poised to Overtake Germany as World’s No. 4 Economy,” Bloomberg News, October 24, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-10-24/california-poised-to-overtake-germany-as-world-s-no-4-economy

Population: We’re Number 3

Based on 2022 Census estimates, the United States had 339 million people.

• India is the most populous country, with 1.425 billion people, followed very closely China, also with 1.425 billion. India and China each have 18 percent of the world’s population.

• A full 40 percent of all people on Earth live in Southeast Asia (China, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh).

• The most populous country in Africa is Nigeria (ranking 6th, with 216 million people).

• Brazil is South America’s largest country, ranking 7th with 215 million people.

• Europe’s most populous country is Germany (ranking 19th, with 84 million people).

Source: World Population Review, 2022, https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries; “Countries by Percentage of World Population,” World Atlas, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-by-percentage-of-world-population.html; updated in 2023 with estimates of China, India, and the United States.