(FORTUNE Magazine) – "Here be dragons." That was the formulation that medieval mapmakers used to indicate the vast areas where they had to admit they had no clue as to what was out there. Today, the problem is not a lack of information but too much sludge. FORTUNE wants to help. The map of the world on this foldout represents a unique way of looking at the global economy--the world's 500 largest corporations, arranged by country and size (see key). Study the map, and two things become clear. One, while the French may complain of America's being a hyperpower, when it comes to business, the U.S. shares the stage with Europe and Japan. And second, while the new economy is neat, cars and fuel are what power the biggest of the big. No doubt there are other insights to be gleaned, so go ahead: Here be no dragons, just a very intriguing map of the world.

U.S. $5,504 billion Japan $2,934 billion Germany $1,176 billion France $1,007 billion Britain $840 billion Switzerland $315 billion Netherlands $290 billion South Korea $279 billion China $272 billion Italy $253 billion Canada $222 billion Britain/Netherlands $193 billion Spain $148 billion Australia $101 billion Sweden $85 billion Mexico $55 billion Brazil $54 billion Venezuela $54 billion Belgium $50 billion Belgium/Netherlands $44 billion Norway $41 billion Finland $40 billion Russia $32 billion India $22 billion Malaysia $19 billion Luxembourg $12 billion Singapore $12 billion South Africa $11 billion