Older females linked to service imports
Comparing Population ages 65 and above, female (% of female population) with Commercial service imports (current US$), per capita across 184 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.71
- Holding size constant
- +0.65
- Countries compared
- 184
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
A possible link between the two indicators could be that countries with higher proportions of older females have more developed social services and healthcare systems, leading to increased commercial service imports. However, a careful reader should be cautious about the potential influence of other factors, such as urbanization, which could be a likely confounder. The relationship may also be driven by broader economic or cultural trends.
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 aging populations and service imports, when in fact it may be driven by underlying economic or societal 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.