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US Federal Debt Outstanding vs US Life Expectancy
US Federal Debt Outstanding and US Life Expectancy correlate at r = +0.73 over 65 years (1960–2024), p < 0.0001. With the time trend removed, r = -0.80. Direction flips without the trend.
Verdict: Direction flips without the trend. The raw correlation is 0.73, but once each series' time trend is removed it becomes -0.80. The year-to-year movements run the opposite way to the long-run trends, so the headline number is misleading.
- Pearson r
- +0.73
- p-value
- < 0.0001
- Years compared (n)
- 65 (1960–2024)
- 95% confidence interval
- 0.59 to 0.82
- Correlation with the time trend removed
- -0.80
Sources
- US Federal Debt Outstanding (USD): U.S. Treasury. Total US federal debt outstanding at the end of each fiscal year (U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data).
- US Life Expectancy (years): World Bank. US Life Expectancy (World Bank indicator SP.DYN.LE00.IN).
Related pairs
- US Renewable Energy Share vs US Federal Debt Outstanding (r = +0.99)
- US Wind Power Generation vs US Federal Debt Outstanding (r = +0.99)
- US Federal Debt Outstanding vs US GDP (current US$) (r = +0.97)
- US Nuclear Power Generation vs US Life Expectancy (r = +0.96)
- US Infant Mortality vs US Life Expectancy (r = -0.96)
- US Life Expectancy vs US Population (r = +0.96)
Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.