Urban-rural ratio linked to service exports
Comparing Service exports (BoP, current US$) with Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per unit of GDP across 185 countries, 2018–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.58
- Holding size constant
- -0.76
- Countries compared
- 185
- Period
- 2018–2025
What might link these
The correlation might be driven by differences in economic development, as countries with more diverse economies tend to have higher service exports and different urban-rural distributions. A careful reader should consider the role of education, a likely confounder, in driving both indicators. The relationship could be influenced by various factors, including government policies and technological advancements.
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 urban-rural distribution and service exports, when in fact other factors like education and economic development might be driving both.
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.