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US Military Expenditure vs US Population
US Military Expenditure and US Population correlate at r = -0.86 over 65 years (1960–2024), p < 0.0001. With the time trend removed, r = +0.22. Likely spurious (shared time trend).
Verdict: Likely spurious (shared time trend). Both series mostly just trend over time. After removing that trend the correlation collapses to 0.22 — the relationship is probably coincidental, not causal.
- Pearson r
- -0.86
- p-value
- < 0.0001
- Years compared (n)
- 65 (1960–2024)
- 95% confidence interval
- -0.91 to -0.77
- Correlation with the time trend removed
- +0.22
Sources
- US Military Expenditure (% of GDP): World Bank. US Military Expenditure (World Bank indicator MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS).
- US Population (people): World Bank. US Population (World Bank indicator SP.POP.TOTL).
Related pairs
- US Adult Obesity vs US Population (r = +1.00)
- Atmospheric CO₂ (Mauna Loa) vs US Population (r = +0.99)
- US Resident Patent Applications vs US Population (r = +0.98)
- US Median Age vs US Population (r = +0.98)
- US Cereal Yield vs US Population (r = +0.97)
- US GDP per Capita vs US Population (r = +0.97)
Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.