Urbanization linked to young male population
Comparing Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per unit of GDP with Population ages 10-14, male, per unit of GDP across 211 countries, 2011–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.96
- Holding size constant
- +0.94
- Countries compared
- 211
- Period
- 2011–2025
What might link these
The strong correlation between these indicators might be driven by economic development, as countries with growing economies tend to have more urbanization and a larger proportion of young males in the workforce. A careful reader should be cautious about the potential influence of education levels, which could be a confounder. The relationship may also be influenced by other demographic 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 urbanization and young male population, when in fact it may be driven by underlying economic and demographic trends.
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.