Rural population linked to lower industry value
Comparing Rural population, per capita with Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$), per capita across 193 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.64
- Holding size constant
- -0.53
- Countries compared
- 193
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
The negative correlation between rural population and industry value added per capita might be due to urbanization trends, where industries tend to concentrate in urban areas. A careful reader should consider the potential impact of education levels, as a likely confounder, on both rural population distribution and industrial development. The relationship could be influenced by various socio-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 causal link between rural population and industry value, when in fact, it may be driven by underlying factors such as urbanization and economic development.
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.