{"id":12328,"date":"2026-04-19T12:42:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T10:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mr-int.ch\/?p=12328"},"modified":"2026-04-19T13:20:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T11:20:03","slug":"why-not-ask-your-own-questions-of-global-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mr-int.ch\/?p=12328&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Why not ask your own questions of global data?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This new MR\u2019s Data website has now been updated and makes it easier to find many gems you\u2019re looking for. <\/em> It is a vast playground where general data can be selected and presented in a variety of ways. Above all, it is a place where one can discover unexpected connections. Everything here is factual, which allows the imagination to go beyond the raw data. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A correlation that nobody asked you to look for<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Go to data.mr-int.ch,<\/a> select the fertility rate on the y-axis and the proportion of the population aged 65 and over on the x-axis, choose all countries for the year 2023, add a logarithmic regression line \u2014 and you get this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Figure 1 \u2014 Women of childbearing age are having fewer children in an ageing population.
If there is a correlation, the confounding factor will need to be identified.
All countries, 2023; logarithmic regression. Source: MR’s Data,<\/a> World Bank data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The correlation is striking: the older a country\u2019s population is, the fewer children women have there.
The trend is clear; it spans every continent and every income bracket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But be careful \u2014 and this is where things get intellectually interesting: correlation does not imply causation.
People over the age of 65 were conceived more than 65 years ago. In principle, this fact has nothing to do with the likelihood of a young woman today having children.
If there is a causal link, we will need to identify one or more factors that link them \u2014 economic development? urbanisation? access to education?
Several possibilities are plausible, but none is obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also here<\/a> <\/strong>the changes compared to 1960; the scales are completely different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is exactly the kind of question that MR’s Data allows you to ask \u2013 and to leave open, without any preconceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MR’s Data : official data, free exploration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The website data.mr-int.ch<\/strong><\/a> brings together data from three authoritative sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n