16 charts that show why America is the most amazing country in the world
To celebrate America's Independence Day, we've put together several charts that show why, despite all of its problems, this US is the most dominant country on this planet.
Rob Wile contributed to an earlier version of this post.
At current foreign exchange rates, the United States has by far the largest economy in the world as measured by GDP.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from World Bank
While the US was hit hard by the financial crisis and the Great Recession, its economy's been getting better for years.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from FRED
The US is home to the two largest stock exchanges in the world.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from World Federation of Exchanges
The aggregate market capitalizations of the NYSE and NASDAQ are larger than the next eight stock exchanges combined.
America is home to over half of the 100 largest companies in the world.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from PricewaterhouseCooper
Seven of the 10 largest companies in the world by market capitalization, and all of the top five companies, are American.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from PricewaterhouseCooper
America's economy is so large that the economies of individual states are big enough on their own to be comparable to major countries.
AEI
Most other countries in the world view the US favorably.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Pew Research Center
There are a few exceptions, of course.
The US has the most Nobel Prize winners.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Nobel Prize
America also has the most Olympic gold medals.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Olympic.it
Nine of the top 10 grossing movies of all time are unambiguously American.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Box Office Mojo
"Harry Potter" has a lot of British people involved so we'll give that one to the UK.
And nine of the 15 best selling musical artists of all time are American.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from RIAA
The three biggest websites on the internet, and seven of the top ten, are all American.
Alexa
Americans love building big houses, and we've been building them bigger and bigger for decades.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from US Census Bureau
We're an incredibly diverse and welcoming nation. In 2015, a majority of young American children were non-white.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from US Census Bureau
Looking just at New York City, there's a huge diversity of languages. Here's the most commonly spoken language in each NYC neighborhood other than English and Spanish.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from 2012 American Community Survey PUMS
While the baby boomers are starting to retire, the US has a younger population than most other OECD nations, and we have a better demographic outlook than much of the rest of the developed world.
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from CIA World Factbook
Now check out how America's houses have changed over the years
Flickr/Cameron Parkins
11 charts that show how American houses have changed since the 1970s
See Also:
SEE ALSO: Here's the biggest Fortune 1000 company in every state