Fewer women 30-34, more exports
Comparing Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$) with Population ages 30-34, female, per unit of GDP across 171 countries, 2015–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.55
- Holding size constant
- -0.79
- Countries compared
- 171
- Period
- 2015–2025
What might link these
The correlation might suggest that countries with a larger proportion of women in this age group allocated to non-export sectors have lower exports. A careful reader should consider education and workforce participation rates as potential underlying factors. Education level could be a likely confounder, influencing both export capacity and female workforce participation.
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 female population demographics and export performance, ignoring other critical economic and societal factors.
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.