Younger populations linked to higher imports
Comparing Age population, age 05, male, interpolated with Imports of goods, services and primary income (BoP, current US$), per capita across 185 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.57
- Holding size constant
- -0.72
- Countries compared
- 185
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
A possible link between younger populations and higher imports per capita could be related to consumption patterns and economic development. However, a careful reader should consider the potential influence of other factors such as education level or urbanization rate. A likely confounder could be the level of economic development, as it may affect both the age structure of the population and the volume of imports.
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 age population and imports, when in fact it may be driven by underlying economic and societal 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.