This is a quick look at how North Carolina’s GDP compares on the world stage if NC — and other U.S. states — were independent nations. I’m giving the top 40 over the last decade, with North Carolina highlighted in red:

NC vs World GDP 2006-15

Click the image for the full size.

The ranks are based on current-dollar annual GDP data from the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and are not adjusted for population. It’s inspired by similar comparisons done by Mark J. Perry and Earl Fry. As this exercise looks at state economies individually, the full U.S. isn’t ranked.