Georgia’s economic output is bigger than Taiwan – and other data

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) put together a fascinating chart comparing the gross domestic product (GDP) of states and nations. Although the GDP should never be a reliable tool, it does provide a snapshot as to how big or small an economy really is.

According to the AEI’s chart (see below), Georgia’s economic output is bigger than Taiwan’s, Ohio’s production levels are about the same size as Saudi Arabia’s and North Carolina’s economic output is a tad larger than Sweden’s.

Here is what Mark Perry writes:

Overall, the US produced 24.7% of world GDP in 2016, with only about 4.5% of the world’s population. Three of America’s states (California, Texas and New York) – as separate countries – would have ranked in the world’s top 11 largest economies last year. Together, those three US states produced $5.7 trillion in economic output last year, and as a separate country would have ranked as the world’s third largest economy and ahead of No. 3 Japan ($4.9 trillion) by almost $1 trillion. And one of those states – California – produced more than $2.5 trillion in economic output in 2016 – and the other two (Texas and New York) produced $1.6 trillion and $1.5 trillion of GDP in 2016 respectively. Adjusted for the size of the workforce, there might not be any country in the world that produces as much output per worker as the US, thanks to the world-class productivity of the American workforce. The map above and the statistics summarized here help remind us of the enormity of the economic powerhouse we live and work in. So let’s not lose sight of how ridiculously large and powerful the US economy is, and how much wealth, output and prosperity is being created every day in the largest economic engine ever in human history.

Despite the enormous tax burdens California and New York have, they, alongside Texas, produced nearly $6 trillion in economic output.