Services value added linked to coal consumption
Comparing Services, value added (current US$) with Coal consumption, per capita across 192 countries, 2024–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.64
- Holding size constant
- +0.45
- Countries compared
- 192
- Period
- 2024–2025
What might link these
The correlation might be driven by industrialization levels, as countries with more developed service sectors may also have higher energy demands, including coal. However, a careful reader should consider the potential impact of urbanization, which could be a confounder. The relationship could be influenced by various factors beyond just these two indicators.
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 service sector growth and coal consumption, when in fact it may be driven by broader economic development 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.