🪜 Social Mobility Score in Georgia

Social Mobility in Georgia

Social mobility in Georgia is low. The chance of rising from a low-income family into the middle or upper class is considerably constrained by educational inequalities, network dependencies, and massive brain drain. At the same time, there are bright spots: the IT sector has established itself as a new channel for upward mobility, and education investments are showing targeted impact. For families relocating from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, or Australia, this topic is relevant because it affects the long-term prospects for children growing up in Georgia.

Education as a Lever — and Its Limits

The Georgian education system is formally accessible: 12 years of compulsory schooling, free school attendance, national university entrance exams (Ertiani Erovnuli Gamotsdebi, EEG). In practice, the system reproduces inequality: schools in Tbilisi — particularly private institutions like QSI International School (10,000–20,000 USD/year), British-Georgian Academy, or European School — deliver international standards. Public schools in rural areas suffer from teacher shortages (especially English, IT, sciences), outdated curricula, and dilapidated buildings. The National Assessment and Examinations Center (NAEC) has documented a significant performance gap in EEG exams for years: students from Tbilisi achieve on average 15–20% higher scores than students from rural regions.

The 2022 PISA results show Georgia well below the OECD average: 380 points in mathematics (OECD: 472), 374 in reading (OECD: 476). The socioeconomic gradient — the correlation between family background and school performance — is more pronounced in Georgia than the OECD average. Education functions as an elevator, but the elevator moves more slowly for children from poorer families.

University: Accessible but Unequal

Georgia has 60 accredited higher education institutions, including 20 state universities. State tuition stands at 2,250 GEL/year (approximately 790 USD); funded study places (awarded through EEG results) are free. Approximately 30% of students receive full or partial fee waivers. Tbilisi State University (TSU), Ilia State University, and the Georgian Technical University are the most prestigious institutions.

The gap widens at the master's level and for international degrees: an MBA at ISET (International School of Economics at TSU) or Caucasus University costs 15,000–25,000 GEL — prohibitive for families from the lower income half. Scholarship programs (Erasmus+, Chevening, Fulbright) reach only a few hundred students annually. The consequence: international educational experience — a key factor for career advancement — remains largely reserved for the urban upper class.

Networks and Nepotism

A central brake on social mobility is the importance of personal networks in job allocation. Transparency International Georgia published a 2024 study showing that 58% of surveyed employees obtained their current job through personal contacts — not through formal application processes. In the public sector, the rate is even higher: 67% indicated that connections to the ruling party or personal acquaintances were decisive. The Georgian word "nacnobebi" (acquaintances/connections) describes a system that formally does not exist but massively influences access to positions, contracts, and resources.

For children from families without such networks — particularly in rural areas and IDP communities — this means: even with good education, entry chances into well-paid positions are significantly lower. The OECD identified nepotism as a "systemic obstacle to equal opportunity" in its 2024 Georgia report.

Brain Drain: Upward Mobility Through Emigration

An estimated 50,000 Georgians leave the country annually — predominantly young, well-educated individuals seeking better prospects in the EU, the US, or Israel (IOM Georgia 2024). Diaspora remittances total approximately 2.5 billion USD annually, constituting 15% of GDP — for many families, the most important income channel. The problem: brain drain removes precisely those people who could serve as role models for upward mobility and as economic drivers. Doctors, engineers, and IT specialists emigrate; the service gap in rural areas grows.

IT Sector: The New Mobility Channel

The only area with genuine upward mobility dynamics is the IT sector. The Tbilisi Tech Park (founded 2016 with UNDP support) has trained over 5,000 people in programming and IT. USAID funds coding bootcamps in Kutaisi and Batumi through the "Economic Security Program." Junior developers start at 1,500–2,500 GEL/month; senior positions reach 6,000–12,000 GEL — 3 to 5 times the national average. The IT sector employs an estimated 25,000–30,000 people and grows by 15–20% annually. Here, networks matter less than demonstrable skills — a democratizing effect that, however, remains confined to the cities so far.

Comparison with English-Speaking Countries

In the United States, intergenerational income elasticity — a measure of how strongly parental income determines children's earnings — stands at 0.47 (Chetty et al.), indicating moderate mobility. The United Kingdom sits at 0.50, Canada at 0.19 (notably high mobility), and Australia at 0.26 (OECD data). For Georgia, reliable data are scarce, but the World Bank estimates the value at 0.55–0.65 — meaning parental income determines children's future earnings far more strongly than in any of these countries. In practical terms: a child of poor parents in Georgia has a substantially lower chance of upward social mobility than a comparable child in the US, UK, Canada, or Australia.

Social mobility in Georgia is heavily constrained by educational inequality, network dependency, and brain drain. The IT sector offers a new, meritocratic path upward but reaches only a small portion of the population. Families intending to live in Georgia long-term should invest in education and remain aware of these structural limitations.

This article was created on April 19, 2026