Foreign reserves per capita link with working-age population share.
Comparing Reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange (SDR), per capita with Population aged 25-64 years (thousands), per capita across 171 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.69
- Holding size constant
- +0.59
- Countries compared
- 171
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
A higher proportion of the working-age population (25-64) might correlate with increased economic activity, leading to higher foreign exchange reserves. However, this relationship is not necessarily causal; factors like economic policy, trade openness, and global economic conditions likely play a significant role.
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. The partial correlation still suggests a meaningful link, but it doesn't prove causation and other unmeasured economic factors could be involved.
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.