Explore this page to access the latest global data on intergenerational mobility in income and education.
Intergenerational mobility in income
- Estimates of intergenerational mobility in income for 87 economies.
- This translates to a world population coverage of 84 percent.
- The estimates indicate that the negative association between income mobility and inequality (known as the Great Gatsby Curve) continues to hold across this wider range of countries.
- A positive association between income mobility and national income per capita is observed, suggesting that countries achieve higher levels of intergenerational mobility as they grow richer.
The Global Database on Intergenerational Mobility (GDIM) contains estimates of intergenerational mobility in income for 87 economies. The database presently includes estimates of the intergenerational income elasticity for father-son pairings only. Estimates for mother-daughters will be added in a future version of the database.
The income mobility database is presented and analyzed in the World Bank Policy Research Working Paper “Intergenerational income mobility around the world: A new database” (see “How to cite this database?” below).
Downloads:
GDIM income mobility dataset – July 2025 (Dta file, 1007.8 KB)
How to cite this database?
Users should cite the paper: Munoz, Ercio and Roy van der Weide. 2025. Intergenerational income mobility around the world: A new database. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 11166
Intergenerational mobility in Education
- Estimates of intergenerational mobility in education for 153 economies across different cohorts (between 1940 and 1990).
- This translates to a world population coverage of 97 percent.
- On average, intergenerational mobility in education is found to be lower in the low-income world.
This Global Database on Intergenerational mobility (GDIM) contains estimates of intergenerational mobility in education by 10-year cohorts born between 1940 and 1990. For example, the generation born between 1980 and 1990 are referred to as the 1980s cohort, and parents refer to the parents of the generation of individuals of this cohort. Estimates of education mobility are available for different choices of parental educational attainment (Mothers/Fathers/Average/Max) and child’s educational attainment (Sons/Daughters/All, individuals of the surveys).
The education mobility database is presented and analyzed in the Journal of Development Economics Article “Intergenerational mobility around the world: A new database” (see "How to cite this database?" below). Preliminary findings are featured in the World Bank report titled Fair Progress?: Economic Mobility across Generations around the World. The GDIM description provides detailed documentation on the database.
Downloads:
GDIM education mobility dataset – 2023 March (CSV file, 5.5 mb)
Description of GDIM dataset – 2023 March (PDF file, 0.3 mb)
How to cite this database?
Users should refer to the database as the GDIM (Global Database on Intergenerational Mobility) and cite the database as “GDIM. 2023. Global Database on Intergenerational Mobility. Development Research Group, World Bank. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group.”
Users should also cite the paper: van der Weide, Roy; Lakner, Christoph; Mahler, Daniel Gerszon; Narayan, Ambar; Gupta, Rakesh. 2024. Intergenerational mobility around the world: A new database. Journal of Development Economics, Vol 166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103167
