Mapping the PastMAP 33.2 The Global Distribution of Wealth, ca. 2010 This size-comparison map, arranged according to global wealth distribution, vividly illustrates the gap in wealth between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The two small island nations of Japan and the United Kingdom have more wealth than all the nations of the Southern Hemisphere combined, although wealth creation in India and Brazil has advanced significantly. The wealthiest countries are also the most highly urbanized. As market capitalism expands in China, Vietnam, and other Asian countries and in Latin America and Africa, the relative-size ratios on the map will continue to change and evolve. Tiny Iceland, whose GDP is less than $20 billion, nevertheless has one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world.ANALYZING THE MAP Which three countries are the wealthiest? Where are the poorest countries concentrated?CONNECTIONS How were the two small nations of Japan and the United Kingdom able to acquire such enormous wealth?