Coal use linked to service export share
Comparing Share of service in total exports with Coal consumption, per capita across 178 countries, 2024–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.65
- Holding size constant
- +0.46
- Countries compared
- 178
- Period
- 2024–2025
What might link these
The relationship between coal consumption per capita and the share of service in total exports might be influenced by a country's stage of economic development, with more developed economies tend to have lower coal consumption and higher service exports. A careful reader should be cautious about potential confounders like industrialization level. The correlation could be driven by underlying factors rather than a direct link.
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 coal consumption and service exports, when in fact it may be driven by other economic or developmental 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.