California 8th among world economies
California may be suffering at the moment, but if it were a separate nation, it would still be the world's eighth-largest economy.
This chart is based on figures provided by the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto. It uses data from the World Bank and U.S. government to estimate the gross domestic product, or total value of goods and services, produced in each economic region.
The center also estimated the 2008 GDP of the nine Bay Area counties: Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, Solano, Sonoma, Napa, Alameda and Contra Costa.
If the Bay Area were a nation, the center reckons that its $487 billion economy would rank 22nd, behind Switzerland but ahead of Sweden, with GDPs of $488 billion and $480 billion, respectively.