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Social mobility dictates whether children are on the path to having a better life than their parents or if they will remain to their socio-economic status.
Although global living standards have significantly improved over the years, not everyone in the world has a fair shot at success.
Social mobility can be absolute and relative.
Absolute upward social mobility is the capability for youngsters to have a better life than their parents.
Relative social mobility is more connected to an individual’s social and economic level comparable to their parents.
In a country like the U.S., overall economic development has driven improvements in the previous generation’s lives, while comparative social mobility is low. Economic growth in nations with a high relative social mobility like China and India has lifted whole populations upward. Still, an individual’s position compared to others in society remains the same.
It means that in a nation with high relative income mobility, being born into a high-income family provides you far more opportunities than being born into a high-income family in a country with high absolute income mobility. For instance, being born in a high-income family in Denmark with a high absolute social mobility impacts the child’s future income by approximately 15 percent. While being born in a nation with a high relative social mobility like China affects the child’s future income by roughly 60 percent.
The World Economic Forum’s inaugural report measures the social mobility of 82 countries based on 5 key metrics.
Healthcare
Education (Education access, Education quality and equity Lifelong learning)
Tech Access
Work Opportunities (Work opportunities, Fair wage distribution, Working conditions)
In 2020, 17 of the top 20 most socially mobile countries will be in Europe. Still, the Nordic countries lead the ranks due to their high-quality educational systems, strong social safety nets, inclusive institutions, and good job opportunities.
Denmark holds the crown for the most socially mobile nation globally, with an index score of 85.2. If a person is born into a low-income family in Denmark, the World Economic Forum evaluates it would take two generations to get a median income. For comparison, someone in Brazil or South Africa would take 9 generations at the current growth rate.
As one of the few non-European nations in the top 20, Canada performs nicely across most pillars. Like Denmark, Canada could enhance lifelong education, including supporting the unemployed and teaching digital mastery.
Singapore ranks the highest of all Southeast Asian countries and ranks in the top 10 for education.
Below are the top 26 countries of the world where it is easier to achieve the American Dream than in the United States.
Top 27 countries by Global Social Mobility Index
Rank
Country
Score
1
Denmark
85.2
2
Norway
83.6
3
Finland
83.6
4
Sweden
83.5
5
Iceland
82.7
6
Netherlands
82.4
7
Switzerland
82.1
8
Belgium
80.1
9
Austria
80.1
10
Luxembourg
79.8
11
Germany
78.8
12
France
76.7
13
Slovenia
76.4
14
Canada
76.1
15
Japan
76.1
16
Australia
75.1
17
Malta
75
18
Ireland
75
19
Czech Republic
74.7
20
Singapore
74.6
21
United Kingdom
74.4
22
New Zealand
74.3
23
Estonia
73.5
24
Portugal
72
25
South Korea
71.4
26
Lithuania
70.5
27
United States
70.4
The Least Socially Mobile Countries
A developing nation, Côte d’Ivoire places at the underneath of the ranks, with an index score of just 34.5. Once destroyed by internal war and rough economic changes, the consequent poverty rate in the country stays high at 46.3 percent.
Top 10 countries with lowest Global Social Mobility Index
Then by all means go there.