Female primary enrolment linked to youth population
Comparing Population aged 15-24 years (thousands), per unit of GDP with Enrolment in primary education, female (number), per unit of GDP across 190 countries, 2011–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.99
- Holding size constant
- +0.98
- Countries compared
- 190
- Period
- 2011–2025
What might link these
The strong correlation might be due to countries with larger youth populations having more females enrolling in primary education, potentially driven by demographic factors. A careful reader should consider the role of education policy and cultural factors as possible confounders. Urbanization rates could also play a role in this relationship.
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 youth population and female education, when in fact other factors like education policy and cultural norms may be driving the link.
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.