Size Matters: California = France and Alabama = Iran

The United States is a famously big place, but this map helps put the size of the US economy in global perspective.

Created by Strange Maps, the idea here is pretty simple: If the annual economic output of each US state were compared to the GDP of a sovereign nation, what nation would each state represent?  For example, California's global economic heft is about the same as France (with a GDP of $2,15 trillion), while Alabama's is about the same as Iran (with a GDP of $195 billion). New Jersey's economy is comparable to that of Russia (with $733 billion GDP), which may explain why the Garden State made Tony Soprano feel so at home. And it's nice to see the connection between Wyoming and Uzbekistan (GDP: $11 billion) confirmed at last.

LINK:
US States Renamed For Countries With Similar GDPs (Strange Maps weblog)

(Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan)