Higher fossil fuel use per person linked to greater plywood imports
Comparing Plywood and LVL — Import value with Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita across 178 countries, 2024–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.69
- Holding size constant
- +0.50
- Countries compared
- 178
- Period
- 2024–2025
What might link these
Wealthier or more industrialized countries may consume more fossil fuels and import more construction materials like plywood. However, GDP and population controls reduce but don't eliminate the link, suggesting other factors like urbanization or trade policies may play a role.
Why this is not proof of anything
This is a correlation across countries, not an experiment. It cannot show that either indicator causes the other, and both may simply follow a third thing. Correlation alone doesn't prove causation; the relationship could reflect broader economic activity rather than a direct connection.
The second figure above repeats the measurement with national population and income held constant. It is the more conservative number: a relationship that largely disappears there was mostly telling you that larger, richer countries have more of most things.
How this was measured
Both indicators were ranked across every country reporting each, and the two rankings compared — ranks rather than raw values, because a handful of very large countries can otherwise manufacture a relationship on their own. The calculation is arithmetic over figures already published on this site; the commentary above is drafted from the two indicator names and the resulting coefficients.