The CIA World Facebook provides the latest figures of GDP. Specifically, the numbers are expressed in purchasing power parity (PPP), which is the "sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States." According to those figures, the GDP of the United States is just about $15 trillion, just slightly below that of the European Union. China comes second at $11.29 trillion. Apple's market capitalization of $590 billion puts it right underneath the GDP of Thailand at #25 ranking in the world. No African countries eclipse the figure, but South Africa would come right underneath with $555 billion.
According to 10-K form filed by Apple on September 2011, Apple claimed that it had "approximately 60,400 full-time equivalent employees and an additional 2,900 full-time equivalent temporary employees and contractors." Using the figure of 60,400 employees, Apple's worth per employee in terms of market capitalization would be around $9.78 million. In 2011, Apple reported $25.9 billion of net income, or about $430,000 per employee. In comparison, according to the CIA World Factbook, Liechtenstein, the Central European country with a population barely above 36,000, had the highest GDP per capita at $141,100.
Sources:
- http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-02/apple-fever-to-push-stock-to-1-001-within-year-analyst-says
- https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html
- https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html
- http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/000119312511282113/d220209d10k.htm
- http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:AAPL
