Net foreign assets and economic value show a strong, persistent link across countries.
Comparing Net foreign assets (current LCU), per unit of GDP with Gross value added at basic prices (GVA) (constant LCU), per unit of GDP across 172 countries, 2011–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.72
- Holding size constant
- +0.71
- Countries compared
- 172
- Period
- 2011–2025
What might link these
Countries with higher economic output relative to their GDP also tend to have higher net foreign assets relative to their GDP. This suggests that countries with stronger domestic economic bases may be more capable of accumulating or attracting foreign assets. However, this correlation doesn't explain *why* this relationship exists, and a country's trade balance could be a significant underlying factor.
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 correlation indicates association, not that one indicator directly causes changes in the other.
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.