© Rick Wilking / Reuters
The world's top ten corporations, including Apple, Shell and Walmart, have a combined revenue that is greater than the combined income of the 180 "poorest" countries out of the world's total 195 sovereign states.
The figures, which reveal that Walmart, Apple and Shell alone are now richer than Russia, Belgium and Sweden, were released by the campaign group Global Justice Now.
Sixty-nine of the world's 100 top economic entities are now corporations instead of countries - a rise from last year's staggering figure of 63. Out of the top 200 entities in the world, a whopping 153 were found to be corporations.
The US, China, Germany, Japan, France and the UK comprise the top six economic entities followed by Italy, Brazil and Canada.
Comment: The Norilsk nickel plant has admitted to be the cause: