Less credit linked to more primary enrolment
Comparing Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) with Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per unit of GDP across 166 countries, 2014–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.65
- Holding size constant
- -0.53
- Countries compared
- 166
- Period
- 2014–2025
What might link these
The relationship between domestic credit to private sector and primary education enrolment might be influenced by a country's overall economic development stage, with more developed economies potentially having more formal education systems and less reliance on private sector credit. A careful reader should consider the role of government expenditure on education as a likely confounder. The correlation could also be driven by differences in economic systems and policies across countries.
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. This correlation could mislead by implying a direct relationship between credit availability and education enrolment, when in fact it may be driven by broader economic and societal factors.
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.