Fewer young females as elderly females increase
Comparing Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) with Population ages 75-79, female, per capita across 214 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.92
- Holding size constant
- -0.90
- Countries compared
- 214
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
The strong negative correlation might be linked to changes in fertility rates over time, with countries having fewer young females also having a higher proportion of elderly females. A careful reader should consider the potential impact of improvements in healthcare and living standards. A likely confounder could be the overall fertility rate of a country.
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 the two age groups, when in fact it may be driven by broader demographic trends.
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.