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. This is one of the highest percentages among the countries analyzed by the organization, placing Spain among the group where the influence of birth is especially strong.

The report To Have and Have Not: How to Close the Opportunity Gap, published Monday, indicates that around a quarter of income inequality is due to these circumstances of origin. But that’s the OECD average, as the magnitude varies greatly by country. And in Spain, the burden of inheritance far exceeds this threshold, reaching over 35%. The conclusion is clear: a person’s starting point in life continues to determine their economic future.

In total, the OECD evaluates nearly 30 countries, including both member states and those seeking membership. 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 this category, family background plays a more influential role than in other contexts and ultimately strongly influences the position a person can achieve throughout their life.

The organization also points to a trend that does not benefit Spain: on average, inequality of opportunity is increasing. Although the differences between countries remain wide, the levels tend to converge, meaning that those with low inequality are worsening, while those that started from high levels show a slight improvement. In this context, Spain — a country where inherited circumstances have been gaining ground in recent years — ranks highly.

The report also emphasizes that the majority of inequality of opportunity stems from the parents’ socioeconomic background. In other words, family status of origin continues to be the main barrier to achieving true equality of conditions, and in Spain, this parental factor appears to be particularly decisive, adding to other individual factors such as the parents’ country of birth or gender.

The place of residence constitutes another dimension that amplifies differences. In countries like Spain, including the region of residence in the calculation causes inequality of opportunity to increase significantly. In this case, the gap grows by more than eight percentage points, reflecting that territory also determines destiny. The OECD itself emphasizes that territorial differences in employment in Spain can exceed 10 percentage points between the communities with the lowest and highest GDP per capita. And these regional gaps in income and employment explain why equal opportunity depends not only on the family, but also on the geographical context in which one’s life plan develops.

The study offers a concrete example of internal mobility that is revealing. Among those starting from low positions in income distribution — around the 15th percentile, or the lowest 15% of incomes — the average five-year progress varies greatly by region. In areas with the lowest mobility, progress barely reaches four percentiles, while in the most dynamic areas it exceeds 10. This difference shows that not all citizens have the same opportunities to improve, even within the same country.

Another relevant conclusion the study highlights is that inequality of opportunity has increased for younger generations. In most OECD countries, those born after the 1970s face higher levels of inequality than previous generations when compared at the same age. Spain is no exception to this trend: today’s young people face greater obstacles than their parents when it comes to advancing in the labor market and achieving better living conditions.

Faced with this situation, experts point to several factors that can make a difference. One of the clearest is investment in early childhood. Countries that dedicate more resources to this critical stage have lower levels of inequality of opportunity, because early education and support help offset inherited disadvantages. They also highlight the role of tax and transfer systems: progressive taxes on income and wealth, along with well-designed benefits, help reduce the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage.

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