The social elevator is breaking down in Spain, one of the richest countries with the greatest inequality of opportunity

"Economists have long warned that the upward climb has slowed to a near standstill. Now the OECD has provided figures that reinforce this perception: in Spain, more than a third of income inequality is determined by factors that do not depend on the individual, but rather on imposed or inherited circumstances such as gender, the parents' place of birth, or, above all, their socioeconomic background."

"Spain ranks above average, but several jurisdictions have even higher levels, such as Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, Romania, Portugal, and the United States, which top the ranking with the highest absolute magnitudes of inequality of opportunity. The organization groups countries according to the factors that best explain the phenomenon. Spain, which has relatively high levels of inequality of opportunity, is in a group where individual factors, and above all, the origin and socioeconomic background of a child's parents, are crucial."

In Spain more than a third of income inequality is determined by imposed or inherited circumstances such as gender, parents' place of birth, and socioeconomic background. OECD data show that around a quarter of income inequality is due to circumstances of origin on average across nearly 30 countries. Spain's share exceeds the OECD average, surpassing 35 percent. Several jurisdictions register even higher inequality of opportunity, including Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, Romania, Portugal, and the United States. Countries are grouped by the factors that best explain inequality of opportunity. In Spain, family background and parental origins exert a particularly strong influence on economic outcomes.

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