Middle-aged men relate to consumption
Comparing Population ages 50-54, male, per unit of GDP with Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$), per unit of GDP across 182 countries, 2011–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.59
- Holding size constant
- +0.51
- Countries compared
- 182
- Period
- 2011–2025
What might link these
The correlation might be linked to demographic factors influencing consumption patterns, such as changes in spending habits with age. A careful reader should consider education level as a potential confounder, as it can affect both consumption and demographic distributions. The relationship could be driven by underlying societal or 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 other underlying factors.
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.