How big is Apple? Find out...

As of July 2011, Apple had 357 retail stores in 10 countries, and an online store. It is the largest publicly traded company in the world by market capitalisation, overtopping ExxonMobil by some $60 billion, as well as the largest technology company in the world by revenue and profit, worth more than Google and Microsoft combined.

As of September 24, 2011, the company had 60,400 permanent full-time employees and 2,900 temporary full-time employees worldwide; its worldwide annual sales totalled $65 billion, growing to $108 billion in 2011.

How big is it compared to other companies and even countries?

Source of data: CNBC

Click NEXT to find out...

Apple versus countries

According to numbers from the World Bank, there are only 18 countries that have a GDP above $500 billion, while Apple's market cap stands at about $506 billion.

This means that Apple's total value is greater than the 2010 nominal GDP of countries like Poland ($469.4 billion), Belgium ($469.3 billion), Sweden ($458.9 billion), Saudi Arabia ($434.6 billion).

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The value of the company is just slightly smaller than the GDP of Switzerland, which stands at $527.9 billion. If Apple's total market value were ranked among country GDP, it would be the 18th largest in the world.

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Apple versus US cities

The company is worth more than most of the country's major metropolitan areas. Apple's market cap makes it almost the size of Chicago's gross metropolitan product.

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Apple's total market value is about twice the size of Miami's annual production ($257 billion) and far outpaces San Francisco ($325 billion), the city closest to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino.

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Apple versus the dollar

According to the United States Federal Reserve, the total value of US currency in circulation stood at $1.034 trillion at the end of 2011.

A majority of this value is in $100 notes, of which 7.8 billion are currently in circulation.

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The total value of all US legal tender with a face value below $100 totals up to only $252.8 billion, which is less than half of the value of Apple's current market cap.

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Compared to other computer makers, Apple is more 16.2 times more valuable than Dell ($31.1 billion) and 10.1 times more valuable than Hewlett Packard ($50.3 billion).

Apple is about 2.5 times as large as Google ($202.1 billion) and a little less than twice as large as Microsoft ($269.6 billion).

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Apple's valuation is about equal to the combined market capitalisation of the 45 smallest companies in the S&P 500.

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Apple versus California

With $97.6 billion in its coffers, Apple has more cash on hand than its home state of California generated in tax revenue for its general fund in 2011.

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According to the California Department of Finance, California saw revenues to its general fund reached about $93.49 billion during fiscal 2010-11, which is $4 billion less than the value of Apple's cash, short-term and long-term liquid investments.

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Apple versus Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil producer. With more than 17 per cent of the world's proven reserves, the country's total production in 2010 was 10.52 million barrels per day.

It would take the country more than 87 days of full production to generate as much cash from oil as Apple currently has.

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If Saudi Arabia used all of its oil revenues to purchase Apple stock, it would take about 15 months to generate the $506.2 billion needed to purchase the company at its current value.

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Apple versus gold at NY Federal Reserve

The New York Federal Reserve has more gold in its vaults than any other location on earth. About 216 million troy ounces were located here as of 2008.

At $1,700 per ounce, the value of this gold would be $367.2 billion in the market, but still be less than the total value of Apple.

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Apple's total value eclipses US holdings by over $80 billion and is about three times larger than the value of gold held by Germany and the IMF, the world's second- and third-largest holders of gold.

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Apple versus salaries

According to data from the US Census Bureau, the average annual income for individuals in the United States during 2010 was $68,259. With Apple's $97.6 billion, they could pay the salaries of about 1.43 million US workers for an entire year.

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Although it would be a monumental task, this inflow of cash to the newly "employed" would reduce the national unemployment rate by more than one per cent, making just a dent in the 12.8 million US unemployment figure.

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Apple versus Greece's debt

Greece's debt is estimated at about $462 billion - just under the total market value of Apple.

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Greece has been trying to tackle its growing debt problem through austerity measures.