South Africa Ranked 77 Out Of 82 Countries In 2020 WEF Social Mobility Report

Riyaz Patel

Despite government’s substantial spending aimed at reducing inequality, SA is one of the worst performing nations in terms of social mobility, a new report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) shows.

This miserable ranking is a result of poor education, health and employment outcomes, stymieing the chances of citizens to move out of poverty.

It uses 10 pillars, which in turn are broken down into five determinants of social mobility – health, education, technology access, work opportunities, working conditions and fair wages and finally, social protection and inclusive institutions to measure social mobility – or the ability of children to have better lives than their parents.

South Africa ranked 77 out of 82 countries in the Forum’s inaugural social mobility index, released Monday ahead of the start of the annual WEF gathering in Davos, Switzerland.

The report’s findings come despite government’s substantial spending aimed at reducing inequality, which will