Is Gils living in Angola or Mongolia ?? He isn't, but he very well could be. He is in the state of Tamil Nadu in India, but in terms of GDP he would be no different to living in Angola and in terms of per capita GDP, he would be the same as a Mongolian. This, according to a lovely chart by the Economist, which you can see here. They say a picture is worth a thousand words (something this blogger evidently doesn't believe because he regularly inflicts 1000 words on the reader, without a photo in sight). Surely a chart like this is worth 10,000 words. Brilliant, as the Economist usually is.
Vishal can chose between Turkmenistan and Latvia. Sandhya can opt for Croatia or the Philippines. When she goes home, Reflections , who is now wonderfully active in the blogosphere after extensive bouts of laziness, can chose to be a Tunisian or a Papua New Guinean. Wow. All of a sudden, India doesn't seem to be that great an economic powerhouse, does it ? Each state by itself seems fairly insignificant. Nagaland, for example, is no better off than the basketcase of the world, Zimbabwe (Naga National Council, please note). And the assorted , unwashed, Islamist groups might want to ponder that the jihad and shaheeds will all lead to either a Bahamas (without the sun and the sea) or a Gambia.
Of course the one number India has in plenty, is population. If Uttar Pradesh were separate country, it would be the fifth most populous country in the world. Zeno could be a Thai and kiwibloke, when he is not a kiwi, could be a dapper, handsome Italian.
The Economist has published a similar map of China here. Tony Chen could be in Kazakhstan. Carol Chan (grrr; she's made her blog private) is from Azerbaijan. Zhang Dan could be in Turkmenistan, when she is not actually in the UK.
Very helpfully , The Economist has also published a similar map of the US here. By this token, Hopfrog is a Peruvain, and J has become a Thai. Deepa is really a Begum in nearby Dubai, but I am not sure if Mark is a Kiwi or a Finn.
Interesting, isn't it ?
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20 comments:
real cool map. Just discovered that I might as well live in Kansas instead of Kiwiland. The question is do I prefer tornadoes or earthshakes :-) ?
PS: How do you manage to unearth interesting stuff like this?
Indeed, how do u manage to find such stuffs like Kiwi said. This was so cool that I could spend entire day playing around the charts :)
But in a way that tells the truth. While GDP section contains bulk of African countries, population section contains few European and Latin American countries. Such is the reality of our economic growth and then we wonder why Rajalakshmi still wants to bargain hard when it comes to household stuffs.
btw, I have the option of choosing between Armenia and Serbia also ;)
@kiwi - Actually, the question is whether you prefer cows or sheep :)
@Vishal - Actually the noise we make on India's economic power is way above what it really is. Of course, we love to make noise; don't we.
I hear Latvians are prettier than Armenians - so take your pick :)
Quite intersting...as you say, each state individually seems so insignificant.
Wonder why Karnataka has not surpassed West Bengal still?
nejamavay enaku doubt vanthirichi...naan enga iruken..angolava mangoliava?!!!! ithenna kaavalan vadivelu mathiri aakiteengalay!!!
Oooooo, I'd trade my digs here for digs in Peru in a heartbeat!
@Hema - For all the IT noise, Karnataka isn't all that big, as there is almost nothing else. Even in the South, both TN and AP are bigger
@gils - Ha Ha. Thought for your next post gils - after your E Pluribus Unum post ; maybe the next philosophical post can be Where am I :)
@Hopfrog - :)
Ramesh,
I prefer to be in Bangalore or Maybe Chennai.
The foods and drinks guide of Croatia isnt interesting at all >
http://www.croatiaguidebook.info/en/enjoying-croatia/food-and-drinks/
you can check it out here.
but tell me something, what i have not understood is that arent we comparing apples and say bitterguard - leave alone oranges. Isnt it true that India is not just a sum total of all states but a much larger picture to it. Isnt it true that if hypothetically we look at the collective might of all the countries that we compared India with, how big they would be.
Well, Ramesh and Economist are beyond rajalakshmis, so i take it at face value :-)
Came in through Gils glowing tribute post.
Gils is right.
I remember having come here before too, I guess through Preeti shenoy's post.
Ramesh - well, that is right, I would do well being a Latvian. By now, I have realized that Latvians are indeed prettier than Armenians and many other :)
@Sandhya - As always the incisive comment from you. Yes, this is a mischievous comparison and no truly right for the very reason you have said. LOL at the comment on Croatian cusinine :)
@Asha - Welcome to this place and thanks for the kind comment.
@Vishal - :)
The economist have intensionaly taken the GDP indication on 2009 for some states and 2008 for some states which excatly falls under recession period. TN's 2010 GDP is $104bn which may have slightly higher status than angola or Mongolia. Can u please tell which it will be?
I guess, I fall under Maurituis too.
I would be glad to be a Thai, if i am gonna be in Pattaya ;)
@Venkat - Very possibly old data. Angola is also growing at very high rates - Mongolia, not so much. So the comparison may not be very far off.
@Zeno - Naughty Naughty :)
The nice thing about statistics is that you can slice and dice at all levels and make interesting stuff out of nothing or make interesting stuff nothing. :-) :-)
@RamMmm - Lies, damned lies and statistics ......
So looks like I am a Singaporean in Dubai... thats worse than an Englishman in New York! (Not speaking economically at all :D).
But economically speaking, it makes a promising case for me to pack my bags and go home! :)
Even while giving out statistics u couldn't resist taking a dig at me cd u;-D
Looks like the rating keeps changing everyday...it says Croatia today;-D
@Reflections - One of the nice pleasures in life is to take a dig at a wonderful lady who's a great sport :) :)
@Deepa - That can't be so. When you live amongst the millionaire bankers and private equity types, no other place can match !
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