Urban growth links to young female population growth
Comparing Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate with Number of people living in urban and rural areas, annual growth rate across 211 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.77
- Holding size constant
- +0.74
- Countries compared
- 211
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
The correlation might be driven by urbanization trends where young families move to cities for better opportunities. However, a careful reader should consider that education levels, particularly among women, could be a confounder influencing both urban growth and young female population growth. This relationship could be nuanced and 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 suggesting a direct relationship between urban growth and young female population growth, when in fact it might be driven by other underlying 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.