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Rebecca Mullins
May 8, 2013
Around the World in 6 Days Paper
How the GDP Per Capita of a Country Relates to Environmental Policies and Agriculture
The gross domestic product (GDP) of a country, as well as the GDP per capita, are direct
reflections of the state of the countrys economy. Developed countries almost always have a
high GDP per capita, while developing countries usually have a low GDP per capita. Therefore,
the GDP per capita can be directly related to many agriculture and environmental aspects of a
country. Countries with high GDPs per capita generally have better environmental regulations,
as well as less of a focus on agriculture, resulting in agriculture making up a much smaller
percentage of their GDP. Countries with lower GDPs per capita, on the other hand, have less
strict environmental and agricultural regulations, and also obtain much more of their GDP from
agriculture exports.
The environmental policies of countries with high GDPs per capita are usually fairly
strict. This is probably due to the greater industrialization, and therefore greater pollution and
CO2 emissions, developed countries display. In 1956, Great Britain (with a GDP per capita of
36,700 USD) passed the Clean Air Act, which introduced measures to reduce air pollution. The
government of Australia (with a GDP per capita of 42,400 USD) imposes water restrictions on
its citizens to help conserve water resources, as well as funding many environmental movements
to preserve Australias remaining flora and fauna, especially the biodiversity of the Great Barrier
Reef. Luxembourg, the richest country presented with a GDP per capita of 80,000 USD, has
developed a National Plan for Sustainable Development, which takes steps toward reducing the
use of natural resources and preserving the quality of the environment. Although these three
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countries, as well as others, may be taking different measures toward environmental
preservation, all have shown a strong interest in conserving their biodiversity and natural
resources, and reducing pollution in the ground, water, and air. On the other hand, countries that
are less developed, therefore having a lower GDP per capita, are generally much more lax on
their environmental policies. Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere with a GDP
per capita of only 1,300 USD, attempted to combat severe deforestation in the country, but due
to political corruption and lack of funding, no measures have been taken. Due to slash and burn
agriculture, deforestation in Sierra Leone (a country with a GDP per capita of $1,400) is
increasing at an alarming rate. Although the government has begun to plant trees to encourage
new forest growth, this is doing little to combat the immense amount of land being cleared for
agriculture, the methods of which are still mostly unregulated.
These issues are also present in Madagascar (with a GDP of 1,000 USD), a country that contains
a large number of endemic species. Although many poor, developing countries are trying to
develop environmental and agricultural regulations, most simply lack the funding and political
stability to do so effectively.
The percentage of GDP obtained from agricultural exports also directly correlates to the
GDP per capita of a country. It has been shown that the greater the GDP per capita, the less the
percentage of the GDP from agriculture. For example, Canada has a GDP per capita of 41,500
USD and obtains 1.8% of their GDP from agriculture. In contrast, Honduras, a country with a
GDP per capita of only 4,600 USD, obtains 12.8% of their GDP from agriculture. Almost all of
the other countries presented also showed this relationship of high GDP per capita equaling low
percent from agriculture (and vice versa.) This inversely proportional statistic follows the idea
that more developed countries rely much less on raw materials and crops, and instead acquire
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most of their GDP from industries and services. The graph shown below helps to illustrate the
seemingly exponential relationship between the two statistics.








This can be interpreted to mean that the percent of GDP from agriculture falls very
quickly as GDP per capita increases at first, but begins to level out as the GDP per capita
continues to grow. In the future, as countries continue to develop and GDPs rise, this trend can
be expected to continue with a much more gradual slope.
To conclude, analyzing the GDP per capita of a country can provide a plethora of
different and interesting information. Whether the country is developed or developing, strictness
of environmental and agricultural policies, as well as the percentage of GDP acquired from
agriculture/agricultural practices can be determined or estimated. When all of these aspects are
taken into account, a clear picture of both a developed and a developing country can be obtained.
A developing country will generally have a much greater farming population and emphasis, with
a large amount of its GDP coming from agriculture, and will not have many environmental
policies, resulting in a large amount of unregulated deforestation and harm to the environment.
A developed country will be much more industrialized, with a small percentage of its GDP
resulting from agriculture, and will be taking many more steps toward becoming sustainable.

of US Dollars)
Curve of best fit: y=41.18x
-0.82

R
2
=0.85

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Works Cited
McGough, Cecilia. "Russia." 15 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Wood, Andrea. "Ireland." 15 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Knupp, Holly. "Germany." 15 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Taff, Emily. "Hungary." 15 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Johnson, Whitney. "Madagascar." 16 Apr. 2013. Speech. ***
Patel, Premal. "India." 16 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Ford, Sharon "Sierra Leone." 17 Apr. 2013. Speech. ***
Wolf, Skylar. "New Zealand." 17 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Bostic, Trevor. "Luxembourg." 17 Apr. 2013. Speech. ***
Cash, Whitney. "Canada." 15 Apr. 2013. Speech. ***
Deibert, Olivia. "Brazil." 22 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Kim, Angie. "South Korea." 22 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Syptak, Caitlyn. "Indonesia." 22 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Bowman, Whitney. "Peru." 22 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Taylor, Garrett. "Gabon." 23 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Stapel, Aaron. "North Korea." 23 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Croft, Lindsey. "Haiti." 23 Apr. 2013. Speech. ***
Lam, Andrew. "Dominican Republic." 23 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Ritenour, Katie. "Spain." 23 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Goodier, Erin. "Greece." 23 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Spaur, Kayla. "Australia." 24 Apr. 2013. Speech. ***
Rheault, Emily. "Austria." 24 Apr. 2013. Speech.
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Campbell, Kirsten. "Honduras." 24 Apr. 2013. Speech. ***
Zwanzig, Rachel. "Togo." 24 Apr. 2013. Speech.
Price, French. "Great Britain." 24 Apr. 2013. Speech. ***
Bryant, Bria. "Mexico." 24 Apr. 2013. Speech.