Imports and female population linked to GDP
Comparing Population, female, per unit of GDP with Imports of goods and services (current LCU), per unit of GDP across 187 countries, 2011–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.60
- Holding size constant
- +0.48
- Countries compared
- 187
- Period
- 2011–2025
What might link these
The relationship between imports of goods and services and female population, both relative to GDP, might be driven by factors like economic development and trade policies. A careful reader should consider that urbanization could be a confounder, as it can influence both imports and demographic distributions. The correlation suggests a complex interaction that warrants further investigation.
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 the two indicators, when in fact they may both be responding to underlying economic and demographic 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.