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Large Countries with Small Economies

We ranked every country by two factors: Surface Area and GDP. Which countries had a high Surface Area rank but a low GDP rank?
Also try Small Countries with Large Economies
For GDP we used 2025 IMF forecasts, PPP method
Quiz by
interopia
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Last updated: April 24, 2025
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First submittedApril 4, 2017
Times taken80,486
Average score65.0%
Rating4.94
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Rank
difference
Country
124
Central African Republic
118
South Sudan
114
Mauritania
111
Chad
111
Namibia
108
Somalia
107
Niger
96
Mongolia
93
Mali
91
Mozambique
86
Botswana
83
Sudan
81
Papua New Guinea
80
Libya
77
Rep. of the Congo
74
Madagascar
74
Eritrea
68
D. R. Congo
68
Yemen
68
Suriname
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70 Comments
AJS
+5
Level 81
Apr 21, 2020
Wonder why this quiz is not featured when the opposite one is?
Ishaan7
+10
Level 56
Apr 21, 2020
Needs another 30 seconds
gjcsarris
+4
Level 69
May 1, 2020
Nominated!
davidunderscore
+4
Level 44
Jun 1, 2020
how can you nominate quizzes?
josedimaria237
+2
Level 77
Jan 8, 2021
Only the Quizmaster can nominate quizzes.
y4r4
+18
Level 40
Jun 7, 2021
No, just press button ''nominate'' and done.
jbro
+6
Level 76
Jan 23, 2022
quizmaster is the only one that can feature quizes
YouLoveEagle
+4
Level 48
Aug 5, 2022
I wished that one of my quiz would be featured :(
interopia
+7
Level 90
Aug 5, 2022
Keep making those quizzes and I bet someday you will be, YouLoveEagle!
YouLoveEagle
+2
Level 48
Aug 17, 2022
In my dreams of course…but thanks for the motivation, appreciate it
JWatson24
+3
Level 71
Aug 17, 2022
@YouLoveEagle, that's what everyone thinks at first. I certainly wasn't expecting to get a feature when I joined the site, but now I have 3! If you are willing to dedicate yourself to the site and put out high quality quizzes, there's a decent chance one of them will get featured one day :)
JeromesNiece
+4
Level 77
Jun 1, 2020
Surface area? As opposed to.. volume?
Jeremy
+19
Level 79
Jun 2, 2020
Population, I would assume
Constantinos
+1
Level 75
Jan 3, 2021
I don't think so considering Guyana and Suriname have less than 1m.
Werifesteria
+3
Level 66
Jun 16, 2020
How come you have a picture of Afghanistan when it's not even one of the answers?
interopia
+9
Level 90
Jun 17, 2020
Good eye. Because it used to be one of the answers.
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Nov 16, 2020
Changed it to a picture of Niger.
mf3
+12
Level 90
Nov 16, 2020
Yeah, I instantly recognized Niger in that photo. Practically gave away the answer.
EliotSkyrll
+1
Level 55
Nov 25, 2020
That's the norm
Hampus
+3
Level 56
Sep 7, 2020
Guyana and Suriname can't really be considered "large countries".
Quizmaster
+17
Level ∞
Nov 16, 2020
Large is relative. In this case what matters is that Guyana and Suriname are very large relative to the size of their economies.
cornflakesfu
+4
Level 89
Nov 16, 2020
Those were tough. I understand their inclusion on this quiz, but I don't think I would have guessed either one even if the quiz had a 10 minute time limit.
dunkinggandalf2
+1
Level 72
Jan 3, 2021
I somehow got Guyana as one of my first answers, but it still didn't occur to me to try Suriname...
Yanni47
+4
Level 80
Jan 3, 2021
@cornflakesfu - With a 10 minute time limit, you'd probably have managed to get through all the countries of the world, and I'm sure you wouldn't have tried any of the Pacific island countries or any micronations before Guyana and Suriname.
nicolasquiz
+1
Level 68
Nov 18, 2020
Fun quiz! Got PNG last ten seconds. Only missed the other two least guessed answers.
BelgianFries
+1
Level 47
Nov 19, 2020
How is Mongolia so high? Would've never even thought of that.
always1614
+13
Level 28
Jan 3, 2021
Mongolia isn't poor, but it has the lowest population density in the world so it would make sense.
Zach4Kofi
+2
Level 44
Jul 18, 2025
Yeh, same with Botswana, Suriname and Namibia.
Sifhraven
+4
Level 76
Jan 7, 2021
Because it's huge. It was the first I tried or did I try Congo first.. can't remember now.

I sort of expected Kazakhstan to be up here as well. But I guess they have a reasonable gdp.

AlexThirkell
+4
Level 74
Dec 1, 2020
I was wondering if this would be closer to a list of big countries or to a list of poor countries, and it definitely skewed towards the latter - very poor countries, of medium to large size.

Population is probably more of a factor though - a lot of big-but-poor countries are saved from the list by having loads of people, like Nigeria, India, Bangladesh.

Very interesting quiz, thanks!

jmellor13
+4
Level 68
Jan 3, 2021
There are some very wealthy people in those countries though. It strikes me that most of the countries on this list don't really have wealth anywhere.
rosina
+2
Level 60
Jan 3, 2021
So much poverty in Africa.
Zach4Kofi
+1
Level 44
Jul 18, 2025
But this quiz isn’t explicitly highlighting this. Yeh some of the countries here are extremely poor (e.g., the Sahel states) but a few of the others are fairly well off (e.g., Botswana and Namibia).
FifiZeCat
+15
Level 43
Jan 3, 2021
So sad to see the results. So many resources in this amazing continent of Africa but immense poverty. The West needs to stop the exploitation and the leaders need to go, make way for the next generation to put Africa at the top where it belongs.
Quizmaster
+9
Level ∞
Jan 3, 2021
How exactly is the west exploiting Africa in your opinion?
snudman
+3
Level 56
Jan 3, 2021
It's not - that's why you'll not receive a reply.
Zach4Kofi
+1
Level 44
Jul 18, 2025
Couldn’t be more wrong
carrow
+2
Level 50
Jan 4, 2021
Historical momentum.
Sifhraven
+5
Level 76
Jan 7, 2021
@snurtman, your first part might by right, but your second part not, that is misleading. Most comments here don't get a reply from the original poster because with so many quizzes on this site, a lot to do before having to do quizzes a 2nd time.

no correlation. That is like saying if your friend doesn't stop by to visit today HE is the one that stole your car. It is not evidence of anything (though unfortunately in real life this weird type of argument you will convince many people. Of course of things they already believe. And call it "proof"..

Sorry for the bad explanation in English. Hope you guys get my point.

vomitingdiamonds
+11
Level 87
Apr 24, 2022
Wow. Some ignorance here. Look up dependency theory and world systems theory. I wouldn't say it's the West exploiting Africa for raw resources, though. It's more local and global elites (and the global ones have been and are more concentrated in the 'west' but they're also in arab countries and increasingly China and elsewhere).
Alexquiz17
+1
Level 95
Apr 24, 2025
+1
JWatson24
+5
Level 71
Aug 17, 2022
To give a more thorough answer: France has a lot of control over the financial systems in many of these countries. They use the CFA Franc, which is pegged to the Euro and mediated by France. This means France has control over things such as the printing of currency, interest rates, and foreign reserves in these countries. (Source)

There's some controversy about this: the French government claims it contributes to the financial stability of these countries but detractors say it's holding these countries back. I don't know enough about this issue to give a definite judgement, but it's also worth noting that English colonies like Ghana and Nigeria are less financially dependent on other countries and are also doing much better economically than the countries here.

Alexquiz17
+3
Level 95
Apr 24, 2025
Africa is a massive net exporter of wealth. This wealth is no longer extracted directly by western governments, but by private companies and individuals left behind after “decolonisation.”

With pliant local rulers in place, (palms suitably greased) this enabled the continued theft of the continent’s natural resources, re-badged as private enterprise. The empires didn’t really end, they just changed their clothes. I thought this was common knowledge.

Julotek
+2
Level 65
Jun 16, 2025
There are not only Western companies there, but Chinese too.

The difference, the Chinese one come with Chinese people to work in it...

rabble
+1
Level 68
Jun 16, 2025
"Africa, Empire of Dust", and finding a gif or time-lapse of "Europe's changing borders over the last XXXX years" really put an end to that narrative. But I am with you & support ending the wealth exchange, corruption, and money laundering that occurs when western governments operate in Africa (and any other impoverished country for that matter).
Xen0n
+1
Level 31
Jan 3, 2021
got them all with 10 seconds left, except i cant spell Guyana correctly so i didnt get them all :(
Errorofmyways
+1
Level 50
Jan 4, 2021
Surprised Mongolia isn't at the top.
LuigiDood227
+5
Level 72
Jan 5, 2021
This is just Africa Countries Quiz in disguise.
y4r4
+2
Level 40
Feb 26, 2021
Portugal?
MCdoesgeography
+1
Level 74
Jul 13, 2023
No
MrPi2002
+2
Level 77
Feb 27, 2021
I didn't think Suriname and Guyana would be big enough to make it on the quiz. I blame the Mercator Projection for making them look smaller...
Freestatebear
+5
Level 88
Apr 22, 2022
It would be interesting to see a version of this quiz that excludes the African countries.
rabble
+3
Level 68
Aug 17, 2022
Started with Canada and Russia; never would've guessed something like Eritrea would make the list
NQChien
+2
Level 68
Aug 17, 2022
Surprised not to see Sudan on the list.
MCdoesgeography
+1
Level 74
Jul 13, 2023
Higher population density than its neighbours
Amilcar
+2
Level 73
Aug 17, 2022
Very surprised by Libya. Very big area and relatively small population, but I'd have thought the high oil exports would compensate.
SirPhilippines
+1
Level 73
Apr 18, 2023
Gaddafi screwed them up.
MCdoesgeography
+6
Level 74
Jul 13, 2023
No, he didn't
ChessPlayer
+1
Level 36
Aug 17, 2022
No afghanistan or yemen :(
MCdoesgeography
+2
Level 74
Apr 27, 2025
There's Yemen now! Yeay. (not for them)
iRDM
+1
Level 81
Aug 28, 2025
"(not for them)" is sending me
Fdel11
+1
Level 91
Aug 17, 2022
Considering Eritrea and Suriname as large countries is stretching it, LOL.
MCdoesgeography
+2
Level 74
Jul 13, 2023
In contrast they are
quizzicalguy
+7
Level 69
Aug 18, 2022
I'm surprised that my brother in law didn't make this list. Lots of surface area. Lots of gross too. But almost no domestic. And zero productivity.
Nickelz
+1
Level 69
Dec 12, 2022
I'm calling bull on Yemen being absent.
MCdoesgeography
+1
Level 74
Jul 13, 2023
"rather" high population density, that's why.

Probably doesn't miss out by much

Xtrordinary
+1
Level 75
Apr 25, 2025
Yemen has a rank difference of 62 so close, but not quite.
MCdoesgeography
+1
Level 74
Apr 27, 2025
It's on now!
Xanalania
+1
Level 40
Jun 16, 2025
BOTSWANA‽
iRDM
+1
Level 81
Aug 28, 2025
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