Wealthier nations have fewer workers per GDP
Comparing GNI, Atlas method (current US$), per capita with Population aged 25-64 years (thousands), per unit of GDP across 204 countries, 2011–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.99
- Holding size constant
- -0.99
- Countries compared
- 204
- Period
- 2011–2025
What might link these
The strong negative correlation might be driven by differences in economic structures, with wealthier countries having more service-oriented or tech-driven economies that require fewer workers per unit of GDP. A careful reader should consider education levels as a potential confounder, as they can influence both the workforce composition and a country's wealth. The relationship could also be influenced by variations in industry and occupation distributions across nations.
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 causal link between workforce size and national wealth, when in fact, many other factors are likely at play.
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.