Gross Domestic Product by Arable Land in North America

The chart above shows economic output as it relates to arable land.  The countries to the top left have a larger ratio of gross domestic product (GDP) to arable land, while countries to the bottom right have a smaller ratio of GDP to arable land.  Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and Grenada have the largest ratio of GDP to area whereas Haiti, Canada, and Nicaragua have the smallest ratio of GDP to area.

Findings

• All countries have a GDP per square kilometer of arable land of over one million international dollars.
• Haiti has the smallest ratio of GDP to arable land with an economy of just over one million times that of its arable land in square kilometers.
• Trinidad and Tobago has the largest ratio of GDP to arable land with an economy of over 177 million times that of its arable land in square kilometers.
• Only Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago have a GDP that is over 100 million international dollars per square kilometer of arable land.

Caveats

• Arable land may be a better attribute to use than total land area because it indicates where people are willing to live however, countries are likely to have resources beyond what can be found within their arable lands.
• Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and the US Virgin Islands were missing data.

Details

Even after factoring in for Canada's vast frozen expanse, the country still has one of the lowest economic outputs per square kilometer of arable land.

The United States does not fare as well here as it did when comparing its economic output to its total area.  This is due to the fact that the country has large portions of arable land compared to its North American neighbors.

Data

Code	Country	Arable Land (square km)	GDP (in millions)	GDP Per Square Kilometer
HT	Haiti	10,703	19,979	1,866,673
NI	Nicaragua	16,295	35,835	2,199,141
CA	Canada	469,281	1,752,910	3,735,310
BZ	Belize	758	3,252	4,290,237
HN	Honduras	10,201	45,628	4,472,895
SV	El Salvador	6,852	57,285	8,360,333
GT	Guatemala	15,464	138,987	8,987,778
MX	Mexico	231,799	2,406,199	10,380,541
US	United States	1,652,028	19,417,144	11,753,520
DM	Dominica	57	847	14,859,649
PA	Panama	5,504	100,512	18,261,628
DO	Dominican Republic	8,084	174,180	21,546,264
JM	Jamaica	1,221	26,474	21,682,228
AG	Antigua and Barbuda	81	2,372	29,283,951
BB	Barbados	160	4,983	31,143,750
CR	Costa Rica	2,504	85,781	34,257,588
GD	Grenada	20	1,588	79,400,000
PR	Puerto Rico	911	129,848	142,533,480
TT	Trinidad and Tobago	251	44,654	177,904,382

Sources

"Report for Selected Countries and Subjects."  https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2017/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=43&pr.y=19&sy=2017&ey=2017&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512%2C672%2C914%2C946%2C612%2C137%2C614%2C546%2C311%2C962%2C213%2C674%2C911%2C676%2C193%2C548%2C122%2C556%2C912%2C678%2C313%2C181%2C419%2C867%2C513%2C682%2C316%2C684%2C913%2C273%2C124%2C868%2C339%2C921%2C638%2C948%2C514%2C943%2C218%2C686%2C963%2C688%2C616%2C518%2C223%2C728%2C516%2C558%2C918%2C138%2C748%2C196%2C618%2C278%2C624%2C692%2C522%2C694%2C622%2C142%2C156%2C449%2C626%2C564%2C628%2C565%2C228%2C283%2C924%2C853%2C233%2C288%2C632%2C293%2C636%2C566%2C634%2C964%2C238%2C182%2C662%2C359%2C960%2C453%2C423%2C968%2C935%2C922%2C128%2C714%2C611%2C862%2C321%2C135%2C243%2C716%2C248%2C456%2C469%2C722%2C253%2C942%2C642%2C718%2C643%2C724%2C939%2C576%2C644%2C936%2C819%2C961%2C172%2C813%2C132%2C199%2C646%2C733%2C648%2C184%2C915%2C524%2C134%2C361%2C652%2C362%2C174%2C364%2C328%2C732%2C258%2C366%2C656%2C734%2C654%2C144%2C336%2C146%2C263%2C463%2C268%2C528%2C532%2C923%2C944%2C738%2C176%2C578%2C534%2C537%2C536%2C742%2C429%2C866%2C433%2C369%2C178%2C744%2C436%2C186%2C136%2C925%2C343%2C869%2C158%2C746%2C439%2C926%2C916%2C466%2C664%2C112%2C826%2C111%2C542%2C298%2C967%2C927%2C443%2C846%2C917%2C299%2C544%2C582%2C941%2C474%2C446%2C754%2C666%2C698%2C668&s=PPPGDP&grp=0&a=.  International Monetary Fund.

US Department of State.  2017.  "The World Factbook."  Accessed September 21, 2017.  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html.