As Apple is now worth a collosal $2 trillion (£1.5trn), and has overtaken the economy of the world's largest countries by area – Russia and Canada – we take a look at other global giants that have grown so big that they are worth more than entire nations. From tech companies such as Microsoft to food giants such as Nestlé, it turns out there are a whole host of mega-wealthy companies which are worth more than countries. Using the latest nominal GDP data for each country, click or scroll through to see which firms are wealthier than entire countries. 

Company values are correct at time of writing.

The very first tweet was sent on 21 March 2006. Less than a decade later the company, which made the hashtag a global trend, is one of the world’s most used social media platforms. With an estimated 500 million tweets sent per day it’s not surprising that the company is now worth around $31 billion (£23.5bn). This makes it worth more than twice than this country...

Located on the west coast of Africa, Equatorial Guinea is a small country with a population of just over 1.3 million. Once it was one of Africa's richest countries, and third largest producer of oil in sub-Saharan Africa, but corruption and a drop in oil revenue has seen its economy flounder, and its GDP has halved since 2012. It is currently worth $11 billion (£8.3bn).

The Swiss commodity trading and mining company has around 160,000 employees working in over 50 counties. The company, which produces and trades more than 90 commodities like copper, zinc and oil, has a market cap of $30.9 billion (£23.47bn) making Glencore wealthier than this sought-after tourist destination...

The beautiful island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean has a population of more than 1.2 million, and is worth less than half of Glencore, with a GDP of $14.18 billion (£10.8bn) according to the World Bank.

The telecommunications provider has 625 million mobile customers, which is almost twice the US population. Vodafone's current worth is $41.8 billion (£31.75bn), making it wealthier than...

A major oil producer in Africa, Gabon's economy is largely reliant on the black stuff, which accounts for 45% of its $16.7 billion (£12.7bn) GDP. Despite its oil riches, a third of Gabon's 1.5 million population lives in poverty.

The online car service and ride sharing app operates in 63 countries and more than 700 cities around the world. With business avenues including food delivery service Uber Eats; Uber Freight, an app which matches carriers with shippers; and Advanced Technologies Group, which is developing self-driving cars, the company is currently worth $52.39 billion (£39.7bn). That's more than...

Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs has offices all around the world, from Buenos Aries to Beijing. In 2019, the firm had $992.97 billion (£753.4bn) worth of assets under supervision. The company currently has a worth of $70.3 billion (£53.3bn), making it richer than...

The oil and gas company operates in more than 70 countries. However, the oil industry has fallen on tough times recently, with a lack of demand due to coronavirus pushing oil prices below zero on 20 April and many of the largest fossil fuel companies accelerating plans to explore renewables. Nonetheless, Royal Dutch Shell is currently worth $87.249 billion (£66bn), making it richer than...

Blackrock is one of the largest investment management firms on the planet, with $7.4 trillion (£5.6tn) worth of assets under management at the end of 2019. Founded and based in New York, the company is currently worth $89.93 billion (£68.4bn) making it richer than…

The world’s largest brewer, responsible for producing beverages like Budweiser and Corona Extra, had a 29.8% share of the global beer market in 2018, according to Statista. Anheuser-Busch Inbev is currently worth $96.27 billion (£73.3bn) making it richer than…

Although its headquarters are in Ireland, this consulting firm operates worldwide with 513,000 employees wserving clients in more than 120 countries. It is currently worth $155.7 billion (£118.5bn) making Accenture wealthier than…

The golden arches may have hit tough times due to lockdown and restaurant closures, but its US sales have already begun to bounce back according to the Wall Street Journal. McDonald's is currently worth $155.9 billion (£118.6bn) making it worth more than...

The Texas-based multinational oil and gas corporation was founded by John. D Rockefeller in late 1999. The company, which now boasts a 71,000-strong workforce that searches for natural gas and oil in six continents around the world, is worth $177.4 billion (£135bn), which makes it richer than...

The tech company, founded in South Korea, raked in $206 billion (£156bn) worth of revenue last year and is currently worth $311.4 billion (£237bn), making it richer than...

The food and beverage company is responsible for producing products like the KitKat chocolate bar, Cheerios cereal and the drink Milo. The company has 291,000 employees and sells its products in 187 nations. It is currently worth $345.97 billion (£262.7bn) making it wealthier than…

Retailer Walmart takes out the coveted title as the world’s most powerful company. Founded in Arkansas in 1962, the retailer made a name for itself by selling discounted groceries, household goods and clothing. The company has 2.2 million employees and operates 11,500 stores in 28 countries. The company is currently worth $374.98 billion (£285.4bn) making it richer than….

The Chinese e-commerce company founded in 1999 is going from strength to strength. In November 2019, Alibaba’s one-day online shopping festival generated more than $38 billion (£29bn) in sales, surpassing the previous year's $30.5 billion (£23.3bn) record for the event. Its worth is currently $712.9 billion (£542.5bn) making it wealthier than…

Founded in 2004, the social networking service, which is based in California, now has over 2.7 billion daily active users and employs 52,534 staff around the world. The company, founded by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, is currently worth $743.9 billion (£566bn) making Facebook richer than…

Microsoft Office has at least 1.2 billion users worldwide and in the financial year 2019 Microsoft reported revenues of just over $125 billion (£94.9bn). The brainchild of Bill Gates and the late Paul Allen was launched in 1975 from a garage, but is now worth $1.587 trillion (£1.2trn) making it wealthier than...

Discover other massive companies that started very small

The online shopping giant has an estimated 44% share of the US e-commerce market according to Bank of America, while there are 150 Amazon Prime users worldwide. The online marketplace, which was founded by Jeff Bezos, has made its founder a fortune during the pandemic and is currently worth $1.65 trillion (£1.25trn). That makes the company richer than...

The second largest country in the world, with a population of more than 37 million people, Canada is one of the top 20 largest economies in the world. However, Canada's GDP is still lower than that of tech giant Apple, at $1.736 trillion (£1.3trn).

Now read about the companies that forced their founders out