After listening to President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks describe Russia as a ‘great power’ I thought I would briefly outline Russia’s greatness.

GDP in 2016:

• California 2.5 Trillion
• Texas 1.5 Trillion
• New York 1.4 Trillion
• Russia 1.2 Trillion
• Florida 800 Billion

In other words, 3 separate American states have a larger annual GDP/GSP than the entire country of Russia.  Florida trails closely behind.

In terms of a global perspective, in 2015 Russia’s GDP was smaller than Italy, and Australia.  Russia just barely beat Spain, the country that struggles with a 23% unemployment rate.

United States -18,036,648.00

China-11,007,720.59

Japan-4,123,257.61

Germany-3,363,446.82

United Kingdom-2,858,003.09

France-2,418,835.53

India-2,095,398.35

Italy-1,821,496.96

Brazil-1,774,724.82

Canada-1,550,536.52

Korea, Rep.-1,377,873.11

Australia-1,339,140.53

Russian Federation-1,331,207.75

Spain- 1,199,057.34

According to the US Energy Information Administration, in 2013 over half of Russia’s exports dealt with crude oil, natural gas, or petroleum products.  Given the recent shale boom in the United States and the increased supply in oil by OPEC, Russia’s prospects for future economic growth remains bleak.

For an interactive look into Russia’s export/import log in 2014 I highly recommend this website.