Consumption expenditure linked to service exports
Comparing Service exports (BoP, current US$) with Final consumption expenditure (current US$) across 164 countries, 2018–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.86
- Holding size constant
- +0.85
- Countries compared
- 164
- Period
- 2018–2025
What might link these
The strong correlation between final consumption expenditure and service exports may be driven by a country's overall economic activity, with wealthy nations both consuming and exporting more services. A careful reader should consider the potential role of trade agreements and economic integration as a likely confounder. The relationship could also be influenced by tourism, with countries receiving more tourists having higher service exports and consumption expenditure.
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 consumption and exports, when in fact both may be driven by underlying economic 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.