More young males per GDP unit linked to less consumption
Comparing Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$), per capita with Population ages 10-14, male, per unit of GDP across 171 countries, 2015–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.97
- Holding size constant
- -0.95
- Countries compared
- 171
- Period
- 2015–2025
What might link these
The strong negative correlation might be driven by countries with larger youth populations having different economic priorities or less disposable income per capita. A careful reader should consider education expenditure as a likely confounder. The relationship could be influenced by various socio-economic factors.
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 it may be driven by underlying factors such as education or economic development.
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.