GDP per capita inversely related to female population per GDP
Comparing GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) with Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, per unit of GDP across 185 countries, 2011–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.99
- Holding size constant
- -0.98
- Countries compared
- 185
- Period
- 2011–2025
What might link these
The strong inverse relationship between GDP per capita and female population per unit of GDP might be linked to differences in economic structures or social policies across countries. A careful reader should consider the potential impact of urbanization rates, as countries with higher GDP per capita often have more urbanized populations. Education levels could also play a role as a likely confounder.
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 female population and economic productivity, when in fact it may be driven by underlying factors such as education or healthcare access.
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.