Female primary enrolment linked to remittances
Comparing Enrolment in primary education, female (number), per capita with Personal remittances, paid (current US$), per capita across 174 countries, 2016–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.57
- Holding size constant
- -0.51
- Countries compared
- 174
- Period
- 2016–2025
What might link these
A possible link between the two indicators could be that countries with higher remittances have more financial resources to invest in education, leading to increased female primary enrolment. However, a careful reader should be cautious about the potential influence of other factors, such as cultural or societal norms, which could also impact enrolment rates. A likely confounder is the level of economic development beyond just GDP.
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. Correlation does not imply causation, and the relationship may be driven by underlying factors rather than a direct link between remittances and female primary enrolment.
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.