Research & Analysis
Exploring correlations in global development data across 200+ countries. Each study uses real World Bank and UN data to reveal patterns in wealth, health, education, and population.
GDP Per Capita vs Life Expectancy
Does wealth buy longer lives?
The Preston Curve, first described in 1975, shows that people in richer countries tend to live longer — but the relationship is logarithmic, not linea...
Fertility Rate vs GDP Per Capita
The demographic-economic paradox
One of the most consistent patterns in demography: as countries get richer, people have fewer children. This is known as the demographic transition. W...
Internet Access vs GDP Per Capita
The global digital divide
Internet access has become a key indicator of economic development. Wealthier nations have near-universal internet penetration, while many developing ...
Health Spending vs Life Expectancy
Does spending more on healthcare save lives?
Countries spend vastly different amounts on healthcare as a share of GDP — from under 3% to over 16%. But does higher spending translate to longer liv...
Urbanization vs Internet Access
City living and digital connectivity
Urban areas concentrate infrastructure investment, including internet connectivity. Countries with higher urbanization rates tend to have better inter...
Infant Mortality vs Health Expenditure
Where healthcare spending matters most
Infant mortality is one of the most sensitive indicators of healthcare quality. Unlike life expectancy (which is affected by lifestyle, diet, and gene...
Income Inequality (Gini) vs GDP
Are richer countries more equal?
The Gini index measures income inequality on a scale of 0 (perfect equality) to 100 (perfect inequality). Conventional wisdom suggests richer countrie...
Literacy Rate vs Fertility Rate
Education as the strongest contraceptive
Education — particularly female literacy — is the single strongest predictor of fertility decline worldwide. As literacy rates rise, women gain access...
Young Population vs Growth Rate
Demographic momentum and future growth
Countries with a high proportion of young people (under 14) tend to have higher population growth rates — a phenomenon called demographic momentum. Ev...
Population Density vs Urbanization
Dense countries vs urban countries
Population density and urbanization are related but distinct concepts. A country can be densely populated but rural (Bangladesh), or sparsely populate...
The World Is Splitting in Two: Aging vs Growing
A demographic divergence with no precedent
The world is dividing into two demographic realities. One group of countries — mostly in Africa and the Middle East — has young, rapidly growing popul...
The Landlocked Penalty: Does Geography Determine Destiny?
How being cut off from the sea affects development
There are 44 landlocked countries in the world, and they face a persistent disadvantage. Without direct ocean access, trade costs are higher, supply c...
Where Are People Fleeing? Net Migration vs Wealth
The countries people leave vs the ones they move to
Net migration reveals which countries people are voting for with their feet. Wealthy nations with strong economies tend to attract immigrants, while p...
About This Data
All data comes from the World Bank Open Data platform and the REST Countries API. Indicators use the most recent available value for each country (typically 2020-2024).
Scatter plots show individual countries as dots sized by population and colored by region. Correlation coefficients (Pearson r) are calculated from the displayed data points.
Correlation does not imply causation. These analyses identify patterns in the data but do not establish causal relationships between variables.