Higher female child population correlates with lower capital investment globally.
Comparing Gross capital formation (current US$) with Age population, age 09, female, interpolated across 175 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.57
- Holding size constant
- -0.58
- Countries compared
- 175
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
Wealthier countries may invest more in capital but have lower birth rates, while poorer nations with younger populations could prioritize immediate needs over long-term capital formation. A careful reader should note that correlation does not imply causation, and reverse causality is possible.
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 reversal in correlation after controlling for population and GDP suggests hidden structural factors may 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.