Young males correlate with less service value
Comparing Population ages 0-14, male, per capita with Services, value added (constant 2015 US$), per capita across 193 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.85
- Holding size constant
- -0.78
- Countries compared
- 193
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
The relationship between a higher proportion of young males in a population and lower value added in services might be linked to the demographic's impact on the workforce and economic structures. A careful reader should consider education levels as a potential confounder, as they could influence both the age structure of the population and the development of the service sector. The correlation does not necessarily imply a direct causal link between the two indicators.
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 overlooking the potential influence of other demographic and economic factors that are not controlled for in the analysis.
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.