Earth by night!

Paul Romer's new blog has this excellent map which illustrates the geographic variations in the level of economic activity across the globe (the lighted areas indicating economically active regions). Going by this yardstick, India is one of the most economically active regions in the world. Contrast this with China, whose economic activity is predominantly concentrated in the eastern coast.



Update 1
See this Vox article that explores alternate indicators to measure economic activity.