Older men linked to middle-aged men per GDP
Comparing Population ages 80 and above, male, per unit of GDP with Population ages 55-59, male, per unit of GDP across 212 countries, 2011–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.81
- Holding size constant
- +0.74
- Countries compared
- 212
- Period
- 2011–2025
What might link these
The correlation might be due to countries with higher life expectancies having both more older and middle-aged men per unit of GDP. A careful reader should consider healthcare quality as a likely confounder. This relationship could reflect broader demographic 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 does not account for other factors like healthcare access or retirement policies that could influence these numbers.
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.