High child population per GDP linked to lower per capita GDP
Comparing Population ages 0-14, total, per unit of GDP with GDP (current US$), per capita across 212 countries, 2011–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.99
- Holding size constant
- -0.99
- Countries compared
- 212
- Period
- 2011–2025
What might link these
Countries with a larger proportion of young people relative to their economic output tend to have lower GDP per capita. This could be due to high dependency ratios straining resources, or conversely, a younger population in less developed economies where per capita GDP is naturally lower.
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. The strong negative correlation could be driven by underlying development status, with less developed countries exhibiting both higher birth rates and lower per capita GDP.
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.