WEF Ranks South Korea 25th Among 82 Countries in Social Mobility Index

[Image source=World Economic Forum (WEF) website/www.weforum.org]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] It has been reported that South Korea ranked 25th among 82 major countries in the World Economic Forum (WEF)'s 'Social Mobility Competency Index.' Social mobility competency quantifies how equally individuals can have opportunities regardless of factors such as social and economic background, gender, and origin, including the possibility of moving between social classes.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) released the 'Global Social Mobility Index 2020' report on the 19th (local time). This index measures a country's ability to enhance social mobility, created to help policymakers identify and respond to issues of social inequality such as income polarization. Social mobility narrowly refers to class movement, and WEF stated that the report focuses on evaluating how equally individuals have opportunities regardless of factors like socio-economic background, gender, and origin.

The Social Mobility Index scored 51 indicators across 10 sectors, including health, access to education, quality and equity of education, lifelong learning, access to technology, employment opportunities, equitable wage distribution, working conditions, social protection, and inclusiveness. South Korea scored 71.4 out of 100 points, ranking 25th among 82 surveyed countries. Denmark ranked first with 85.2 points, followed by Norway (83.6 points), Finland (83.6 points), Sweden (83.5 points), and Iceland (82.7 points). All top five were Nordic countries.

[Image source=World Economic Forum (WEF) website/www.weforum.org]

Germany (78.8 points) ranked 11th, while France (76.7 points, 12th), Canada (76.1 points, 14th), Japan (76.1 points, 15th), Australia (75.1 points, 16th), Singapore (74.6 points, 20th), and the United Kingdom (74.4 points, 21st) also scored higher than South Korea. In contrast, the United States (70.4 points, 27th), Israel (68.1 points, 33rd), Italy (67.4 points, 34th), Russia (64.7 points, 39th), China (61.5 points, 45th), and Brazil (52.1 points, 60th) scored lower than South Korea.

Looking at the 10 sectors that make up the index, South Korea scored 91 out of 100 in health, ranking 9th, and also received a high evaluation in access to technology (92 points, 3rd). Additionally, sectors such as employment opportunities (79 points, 17th), access to education (76 points, 24th), quality and equity of education (76 points, 29th), inclusive institutions (74 points, 25th), and lifelong learning (68 points, 14th) were within the top 30. However, South Korea was relatively weak in working conditions (61 points, 36th), social protection (55 points, 45th), and equitable wage distribution (42 points, 56th) compared to other countries.

Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum is an international private meeting held annually in Davos, Switzerland, where leading global businesspeople, economists, journalists, and politicians gather to discuss global economic issues and seek international practical tasks. It is also called the Davos Forum.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.