Income linked to export capacity
Comparing Gross domestic income (constant LCU) with Exports as a capacity to import (constant LCU), per capita across 179 countries, 2004–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.72
- Holding size constant
- +0.92
- Countries compared
- 179
- Period
- 2004–2025
What might link these
The strong correlation between gross domestic income and exports as a capacity to import per capita may be driven by a country's overall economic health and trade policies. A careful reader should consider the potential impact of economic globalization and trade agreements on these indicators. Education level could be a likely confounder, influencing both economic productivity and trade capacity.
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 does not necessarily imply that increasing exports directly leads to higher domestic income, as other factors like investment and consumption patterns may play a significant role.
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.