Nine Indices of Comparison between US Imperialism and Other Powers
Leave a comment03/01/2022 by socialistfight
(Sources at the start or end of each section.)
1. Most foreign exchange reserves are in U.S. dollars
Share of foreign exchange reserves, first quarter 2020: US Dollar 62.0%, Euro 20.1%, Japanese Yen 5.7%, British Pound 4.4%, Chinese Renminbi 2.0%, Canadian Dollar 1.8%, Australian Dollar 1.6%, Other Currencies 2.3%.
The U.S. dollar is by far the main reserve and exchange currency for oil and almost every other commodity in the world.
The U.S. dollar is primarily the standard currency unit in which commodities are quoted and traded, and with which payments are settled, in global commodity markets. As reserve currencies at the end of 2020, the dollar accounted for 59%, the euro 21% and the Renminbi about2%.
International use of the dollar: Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_use_of_the_U.S._dollar
2. Financial centers and multinationals
New York tops the list of the world’s top financial centers in 2021 for the ninth consecutive year, followed by London, then Hong Kong, Singapore, San Francisco, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Beijing, Tokyo, Paris, Chicago, and Boston.
According to Forbes 2000, among the top 10 multinationals in the world, the United States has 5, China 4 and Saudi Arabia one.
The 4 Chinese companies and 4 of the 5 AMERICAN companies are in the banking and financial services sector. According to Forbes, “The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was number 1 for the ninth consecutive year; number 4 was another government banker, China Construction Bank (down from last year’s number 2). Ping An Insurance has gone up a notch, from 7th place a year ago to 6th place, and the Agricultural Bank of China has risen in the top 10 to 9th place, although its rank has dropped from 5th place in 2020.” As of August 2021, here is the Forbes list of companies with the highest revenues among the top 500 companies: China, 135, United States, 122, Japan, 53, France, 31, Germany, 27, United Kingdom, 22, South Korea, 15, Switzerland, 13, Canada, 12, Netherlands, 11.
Remember the US has many of its multinational corporations domiciled abroad for tax avoidance purposes. For example, Accenture, a major US corporation has its headquarters in Ireland, so is counted as an Irish company. It has offices and operations in more than 200 cities in 50 countries. In 2015, the company had about 150,000 employees in India, 48,000 in the US, and 50,000 in the Philippines. Today it has some 624,000 employees worldwide of whom just 3,500 work at its Dublin HQ. In 2012, it was revealed Accenture was paying only 3.5% in tax in the Republic of Ireland as opposed to the average rate of 24% for a UK corporation.
3. China has the most foreign exchange reserves
Value of non-gold reserves by territory, 2019 ($ billion) China $ 3,127 Japan $ 1,285 Switzerland $ 804 Saudi Arabia $ 499 Taiwan $ 478 Russia $ 444 Hong Kong $ 441 India $ 432 South Korea $ 404 Brazil $ 354 Singapore $ 279 Thailand $ 217 $ Mexico $ 177 United Kingdom $ 158 Czech Republic $ 149 Israel $ 126 Indonesia $ 125 United States $ 118 Poland $ 117 United Arab Emirates 107
Note: Except for Taiwan, totals include foreign exchange reserves held by monetary authorities, reserves held by the IMF, and IMF Special Drawing Rights. Sources: World Bank World Bank; Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
4. The top 10 stock exchanges as of August 15, 2021,
1. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The market capitalization of all NYSE-listed companies is approximately $22.9 trillion in 2021.
2. NASDAQ. More than 3,000 shares are listed on the NASDAQ with an average trading value of $1.26 trillion per month. Major technology companies like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Tesla, Amazon, Apple, etc. are listed on this exchange. Nasdaq-listed companies account for 9% of the total global market value. Its market capitalization is $19.4 trillion (2021).
3. The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has more than 3500 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of more than $5000 billion.
4. The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) has more than 1450 public limited companies listed on its platform with a combined market capitalization of approximately $4 trillion.
5. Euronext, is located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Euronext has more than 1300 companies listed on its platform, whose total market capitalization exceeds $4.2 trillion.
6. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE). The HKSE has a total of 1,200 debt securities and more than 2,300 listed companies, of which about 50% are from mainland China. The total market capitalization of all shares listed on the HKSE is over $4 trillion.
7. The London Stock Exchange (LSE). There are about 3,000 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with a combined market capitalization of over $3.7 trillion.
8. Shenzhen Stock Exchange. More than 1400 companies are listed on its platform, with a total market capitalization of approximately $3.92 trillion.
9. Toronto Stock Exchange. The TSE has about 2200 listed companies with a total market capitalization of $2.1 trillion.
10. BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange). The BSE, located in Dalal Street, Mumbai, has more than 5500 listed companies on its platform. The total market capitalization of the BSE is over $2 trillion.
Note that the two U.S. stock exchanges, at $42.3 trillion, are almost twice as large as the next eight combined, at $24.92 trillion. The United States, with its subordinate allies, Japan, Europe, Australia, Canada, etc. is absolutely dominant.
5. The ranking of countries by gross domestic product:
United States (GDP: $20.49 trillion),
China (GDP: $13.4 trillion)
Japan: (GDP: $4.97 trillion)
Germany: (GDP: $4.00 trillion)
United Kingdom: (GDP: $2.83 trillion)
France: (GDP: $2.78 trillion)
India: (GDP: $2.72 trillion)
Italy: (GDP: $2.07 trillion)
Brazil: (GDP: $1.87 trillion)
Canada: (GDP: $1.71 trillion)
Obviously, if we take the more significant GDP per capita given by the IMF for 2021, we get an entirely different picture. Tax havens and petro-states, Liechtenstein, Qatar, Monaco, Luxembourg, etc. are in the lead. Ireland comes in at 5th position, the United States is 15th, Germany is 26th, France is 35th, the United Kingdom is 37th, Italy is 44th, Russia is 74th, China is 100th, South Africa in 129th and India is in 155th position.
6.The largest military spending in 2021 and the percentage of the global total:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
In 2020, U.S. military spending reached an estimated $778 billion, an increase of 4.4% from 2019. As the world’s largest military spender, the United States accounted for 39% of total military spending in 2020. China’s military spending, the second largest in the world, was estimated at $252 billion in 2020. This represents an increase of 1.9% compared to 2019 and 76% compared to the decade 2011-20. 12 NATO members spent 2% or more of their GDP on their military, the Alliance’s indicative spending target, up from 9 members in 2019. France, for example, the world’s 8th largest spender, crossed the 2% threshold for the first time since 2009.
Here is the list of SIPRI in billions of US dollars, % of GDP and % of global spending:
1. United States, $778.0 billion, 3.7% 39%, 2. China, $252.0 billion, 1.7%, 13%, India, $72.9 billion, 2.9% 3.7%, Russia, $61.7 billion, 4.3%, 3.1%, United Kingdom, $59.2 billion, 2.2%, 3. 0%, Saudi Arabia, billion 57.5 8.4%, 2.9%, Germany, billion 52.8, 1.4%, 2.7%, France, billion 52.7, 2.1%, 2.7%, Japan, billion 49.1, 1.0%, 2.5%, South Korea, billion 45.7 2.8%, 2.3%.
Is the U.S. Navy the largest navy in the world?
In April 2021, Benjamin Mainardi of the Diplomat Dismantled, the U.S. Department of Defense’s propaganda sheet, wrote that China’s navy had surpassed that of the United States. We have extracted the essence of this article:
Yes, China has the largest navy in the world. It’s less important than you think. China’s fleet relies disproportionately on smaller classes of ships — and U.S. capabilities are being bolstered by its allies’ navies.
In descending order of size, the PLAN’s surface force includes two aircraft carriers, one cruiser, 32 destroyers, 49 frigates, 37 corvettes and 86 missile-armed coastal patrol ships. In addition, China’s submarine fleet includes 46 diesel-powered attack submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines, and four missile-launching submarines. Added to this is the Chinese Coast Guard, which has about 255 coastal patrol vessels. In sum, China has a fleet of surface warships of 121 ships, a submarine fleet of 56 platforms and another 341 coastal patrol ships.
For its part, the U.S. Navy has a surface fleet of 11 aircraft carriers, 92 cruisers and destroyers, and 59 small surface combat and combat logistics ships. Its submarine fleet includes 50 attack submarines, 14 ballistic missile submarines and four cruise missile submarines. Thus, the United States maintains a surface fleet of about 162 ships, according to the inclusion of its small combat ships and combat logistics ships, and an underwater fleet of 68 platforms.
It is clear here that the evocation of China’s massive navy is rather disproportionate. It should be noted that the Chinese fleet relies disproportionately on smaller classes of ships, such as frigates and corvettes, which are widely considered not to be major surface fighters. Still, most of its numerical advantage comes from its coastal patrol ships which, while not insignificant, have a limited power projection capability beyond the seas close to China.
In addition, the United States retains a massive advantage when it comes to aircraft carriers. Whatever position one takes in the debate on the continued viability of aircraft carriers, the fact is that both countries are interested in their production.
The Diplomat Benjamin Mainardi,07 April 2021, https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/yes-china-has-the-worlds-largest-navy-that-matters-less-than-you-might-think/
And this from United Service Organizations:
How many fleets does the U.S. Navy have?
The U.S. Navy has seven active and numbered fleets in its arsenal. The 2nd Fleet, the 3rd Fleet, the 4th Fleet, the 5th Fleet, the 6th Fleet, the 7th Fleet and the 10th Fleet. Some numbered fleets, originally created during World War II, have since been deactivated or merged with other fleets, which is why the current seven active fleets are not numbered in numerical order.
Technically, the U.S. Navy is the second largest navy in the world. According to a 2021 Defense Ministry report, China holds the title of the world’s largest navy. However, most of China’s naval forces consist of small coastal patrol ships and frigates. Although their numbers are slightly higher, the power of the U.S. Navy’s fleets far exceeds theirs.
The U.S. Navy is a force to be reckoned with.
The U.S. Navy has larger and more heavily armed ships than any other navy in the world. It has 11 aircraft carriers, 92 cruisers and destroyers and 59 small surface combat and combat logistics ships. Its submarine fleet consists of 50 attack submarines, 14 ballistic missile submarines and four cruise missile submarines. The U.S. Navy is also supported by the navies of U.S. allies, who work closely with the United States.
How many naval fleets does the United States have? And Other Facts About One of the World’s Biggest Navies, By Danielle DeSimone, October 8, 2021, https://www.uso.org/stories/3152-how-many-navy-fleets-does-the-u-s-have-and-other-facts-about-one-of-the-world-s-biggest-navies
And this from Wikipedia:
As of November 2021, there are 45 active aircraft carriers worldwide, operated by fourteen navies. The U.S. Navy has 11 large nuclear-powered aircraft carriers carrying about 80 fighters each – the largest aircraft carriers in the world; the combined total area of bridges is more than twice that of all other nations combined.
Two nations currently operate CATOBAR (Catapult-assisted take-off barrier-arrested recovery) aircraft carriers that typically carry the largest, heaviest and most heavily armed aircraft of this type: ten Nimitz-class aircraft carriers and one Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, with nine more of the latter class planned by the United States, and a medium-sized aircraft carrier by France, for a worldwide total of twelve in service. In nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, two reactors drive two turbogenerators, then three electric motors driving the propellers, producing a propulsion power of 60 MW. The refueling cycle is estimated at 6-7 years, or at a capacity factor of 65%, refueling is carried out every 7-10 years, overhaul at 20 years, over a lifetime of 60 years.
Wikipedia, Aircraft Carrier, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_carrier#Supercarrier
7. In 2015, the United States controlled approximately 800 bases outside the fifty U.S. states and Washington, DC.
Jacobin, 27-8-2019
The sheer number of bases as well as the secrecy and lack of transparency of the network of bases abroad make any graphical representation difficult. This map reflects the relative number and positioning of bases based on the best available information. Main sources: Department of Defense, “Base Structure Report Fiscal Year 2014 Baseline”; Robert E. Harkavy, Strategic Basing and the Great Powers, 1200-2000, ; Michael J. Lostumbo et al, “Overseas Basing of US Military Forces”; Chalmers Johnson, The Sorrows of Empire, ; Nick Turse, TomDispatch.com; Craig Whitlock, Washington Post, ; GlobalSecurity.org; Reports.
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE): The Facts
Despite the recent closure of hundreds of bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States still maintains nearly 750 military bases in more than 80 countries and territories abroad.
This corresponds to the closure and realignment of bases abroad:
750 military base sites estimated in about 80+ foreign countries and colonies/territories.
75-85% of foreign military bases in the world; United Kingdom=145; Russia = 12-36; China = 8 (plus Tibet).
8. GEOGRAPHY of AMERICAN BASES
The US has 119 bases in Germany; 119 in Japan; 73 in South Korea; 44 in Italy.
Other bases in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Cuba, Djibouti, Estonia, Greece, Honduras, Ireland, Jordan, Kenya, Marshall Islands, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Spain, Tunisia, United Kingdom, US Virgins,Wake Island.
COORDINATION FOR THE CLOSURE AND REALIGNMENT OF BASES ABROAD, https://www.overseasbases.net/fact-sheet.html
9. Global indices of Gini inequality, life expectancy and infant mortality
What is the relationship between the Gini coefficient and life expectancy?
The Gini coefficient alone explains 43.3% of the change in life expectancy at birth (Model 1). When per capita income was introduced into the regression (Model 4), the strength of the association between the Gini coefficient and life expectancy increased.
What is the relationship between income inequality and the infant mortality rate?
Overall, the results indicate that infants and newborns born in U.S. states that have experienced a greater increase in income inequality since 1990 were more likely to die than those born in states where income inequality has increased less.22 Oct 2019
Explanation of the Gini coefficient
Developed by the Italian statistician Corrado Gini in 1912, the Gini coefficient varies from 0 to 1, but it is often written as a percentage. To offer two hypothetical examples, if a nation had absolute income equality, with each person earning the same amount, its Gini coefficient would be 0 (0%). On the other hand, if one person earned all the income of a nation and the others earned nothing, the Gini coefficient would be 1 (100%).
Limits of the Gini coefficient
While the Gini coefficient is a useful tool for analyzing the distribution of wealth or income in a country, it does not indicate the wealth or overall income of that country. Some of the poorest countries in the world, such as the Central African Republic, have some of the highest Gini coefficients (61.3 in this case). A high-income country and a low-income country may have the same Gini coefficients. In addition, due to limitations such as reliable GDP and income data, the Gini index may overestimate income inequality and be inaccurate.
The 10 countries with the highest Gini coefficients (%) World Bank:
South Africa – 2014 – 63.0
Namibia – 2015 – 59.1
Suriname – 1999 – 57.9
Zambia – 2015 – 57.1
Sao Tome and Principe – 2017 – 56.3
Central African Republic – 2008 – 56.2
Eswatini – 2016 – 54.6
Mozambique – 2014 – 54.0
Brazil – 2019 – 53.4
Belize – 1999 – 53.3
Top 10 countries with the lowest Gini coefficients (%) – World Bank:
Slovenia – 2018 – 24.6
Czech Republic – 2018 – 25.0 (tied)
Slovakia – 2018 – 25.0 (tied)
Belarus – 2019 – 25.3
Moldova – 2018 – 25.7
United Arab Emirates – 2018 – 26.0
Iceland – 2017 – 26.1
Azerbaijan – 2005 – 26.6 (tied)
Ukraine – 2019 – 26.6 (tied)
Belgium – 2018 – 27.2
Life expectancy and Infant mortality of the world’s population.
Life expectancy at birth compared
1. Hong Kong (85.29), 2. Japan, (85.03), 3. Macao (84.68), 4. Switzerland (84.25), 5. Singapore (84.07). 6. Italy (84.01), 7. Spain (83.99) 8. Australia (83.94), 9. Channel Islands (83.60), 10. Iceland (83.52), 11. South Korea (83.50, 18. Ireland (82.81), 29. United Kingdom (81.77), 45 Cuba (78.80), 46 United States (78.79), 64 China (77.47), 92 Belarus (74.23), 113 Russia (73.08), 115 North Korea (72.89), 165 Haiti, (64.99), 167 South Africa (64.88).
Note: The UK has a worse life expectancy than Ireland as have both Scotland, at 76.8 and Northern Ireland, at 78.7.
Data based on the latest estimates from the United Nations Population Division, https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/life-expectancy/.
Infant mortality rate
The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 live births, 2021 followed by population.
Afghanistan, 110.6, 39,835,428, Somalia, 94.8, 16,359,504, Central African Republic, 86.3, 4,919,981, Guinea Bissau, 85.7, 2,015,494, Chad, 85.4, 16,914,985, Niger, 81. 1, 25,130,817, Burkina Faso, 72.2, 21,497,096, Nigeria, 69.8, 211, 400,708, Mali, 69.5, 20,855,735, Sierra Leone, 68.4, 8,141,343, DR Congo, 68.2, 92,377,993. South Africa 31, 60.14, China 12, 1,411,778,724, Russia 6.8, 145,912,025, US 5.8, 332,915,073, Cuba 4.4, 11,317,505, United Kingdom, 68,562,151, 4.3, Ireland, 3.6, 5,020,475, Belarus, 3.6, 9,349,645.
World Population Review, https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/infant-mortality-rate-by-country
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