Working-age population linked to national foreign currency reserves.
Comparing Total reserves minus gold (current US$) with Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) (15+) across 155 countries, 2030–2030.
- Rank correlation
- +0.69
- Holding size constant
- +0.53
- Countries compared
- 155
- Period
- 2030–2030
What might link these
A larger working-age population might drive economic activity, potentially leading to higher national income and thus greater foreign currency reserves. However, this relationship could be influenced by many other factors related to a country's economic development and policy choices.
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 does not imply that a larger working-age population directly causes an increase in reserves, as other economic and political factors are likely at play.
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.