Fewer women 55-59 per GDP unit links to higher output per worker
Comparing Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ (ILO modelled estimates) with Population ages 55-59, female, per unit of GDP across 181 countries, 2024–2027.
- Rank correlation
- -0.95
- Holding size constant
- -0.90
- Countries compared
- 181
- Period
- 2024–2027
What might link these
The relationship might be linked to workforce participation and demographic structures. A careful reader should consider that education levels could be a confounder, as they can influence both output per worker and the participation of women in the workforce. The strength of the correlation after controlling for population and GDP suggests a potentially meaningful connection.
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 causal link between the two indicators, when in fact other factors such as technological advancement or institutional frameworks might be driving the relationship.
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.