Higher elderly female population linked to higher per capita GDP, even after controlling for population.
Comparing Population ages 65 and above, female, per capita with GDP (constant 2015 US$), per capita across 207 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.72
- Holding size constant
- +0.63
- Countries compared
- 207
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
A higher proportion of older individuals, especially women, may suggest improved healthcare and living conditions, which often correlate with higher GDP. However, this relationship could be influenced by factors such as a country's stage of demographic transition, which impacts both population structure and economic development.
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. The correlation doesn't imply that an aging population *causes* higher GDP; a country's overall development level is a likely underlying driver for 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.