Younger populations correlate with higher birth rates relative to economic output.
Comparing Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) with Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP across 211 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.91
- Holding size constant
- +0.88
- Countries compared
- 211
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
Countries with a larger proportion of young children (0-14) may experience higher birth rates, which in turn can lead to a higher number of very young children (0-4) per unit of GDP, especially in less developed economies. However, this correlation does not imply causation and could be influenced by factors like healthcare access and cultural norms.
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 relationship might be influenced by a country's overall stage of economic development, which is not fully captured by GDP alone.
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.