As US GDP per capita has grown, streaming subscriptions have grown, a correlation of 0.978 that is one of the more economically intuitive entries on this site: wealthier people subscribe to more streaming services, and a wealthier nation has more subscribers. The income rises, the subscription activates, and the chart records a demand curve so straightforward it could appear in an economics textbook without embarrassment.
GDP per capita grew from about $48,000 to over $76,000 between 2007 and 2022. Streaming subscriptions grew from about 10 million to over 350 million as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and others launched and grew. Both are sixteen-year upward curves. The correlation is partially causal: higher income enables more subscription spending, and streaming subscription revenue contributes to GDP. This is one of the less spurious correlations because the mechanism—income enables consumption—is basic economics.
Sixteen years of GDP and streaming is a correlation with a real economic mechanism: wealthier consumers subscribe to more services, and those subscriptions contribute to the GDP that measures that wealth. The income rises, the library grows, and the chart records a feedback loop that Adam Smith would recognize. The invisible hand holds a remote.
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Want to learn more about why correlations like “Streaming service subscriptions” vs “US GDP per capita” don't prove causation? Read our guide to statistical thinking.
