Mobility Stories
Where you start doesn't determine where you finish. This Sankey diagram tracks which countries rose from poverty, which fell from prosperity, and which remained trapped—across six decades.
Notable Transitions
The Asian Tigers
South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore
From Q2/Q3 in 1960 to Q5 by 2019. Export-led industrialization, education investment, and authoritarian development states drove the fastest sustained growth in history.
The Venezuelan Collapse
Venezuela
From Q5 in 1960 (Latin America's richest) to Q3 by 2019. Oil dependency, Dutch disease, and institutional decay reversed decades of progress.
The Celtic Tiger
Ireland
From Q3 in 1960 to Q5 by 2019. EU membership, corporate tax policy, and education transformed a poor periphery into Europe's richest per capita.
Zimbabwe's Tragedy
Zimbabwe
From Q3 in 1960 to Q1 by 2019. Land reform chaos, hyperinflation, and political instability reversed Southern Africa's breadbasket.
Reading the Diagram
- Left nodes: Income quintile in 1960 (Q1 = poorest 20%, Q5 = richest 20%)
- Right nodes: Income quintile in 2019
- Green flows: Countries that rose at least one quintile
- Gray flows: Countries that stayed in same quintile
- Red flows: Countries that fell at least one quintile
- Flow width: Number of countries in that transition
Hover over flows to see which countries made each transition. Click to filter and highlight specific mobility patterns.