Older women linked to tax revenue and democracy
Comparing Tax revenue vs. Electoral Democracy Index with Population ages 80 and above, female, per capita across 172 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.63
- Holding size constant
- +0.54
- Countries compared
- 172
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
The correlation might be driven by countries with more developed social security systems, which tend to have higher tax revenues and more democratic institutions. A careful reader should consider the potential impact of urbanization, as it could be a confounder influencing both indicators. The relationship could be underpinned by a complex interplay of societal and economic factors.
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 link between demographics and political economy, when in fact it may be driven by underlying factors such as societal development and institutional maturity.
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.