I've not yet had the good fortune to visit your country, so I can't speak for how things are there. Here, there is ample opportunity to rise or fall on your own merits. I've certainly risen well into the top quintile and I'm nothing special. I've known others whose situation declined.* In some countries, there isn't the same amount of economic freedom for ordinary people.

The single biggest way how many people improve their situation here is to acquire marketable job skills. This isn't necessarily the same thing as a formal education - it isn't uncommon for good plummers and electricians can earn big bucks. By way of contrast, there are a lot of people with college degrees in things like art history who are working in Starbucks. Another way how people can really advance themselves is to start their own business. It's a very risky thing**, but those who succeed often end up wealthy.

A lot depends on how people choose to live. If you spend more than you earn, you're bound for trouble no matter what your income may be. There's an excellent book titled "The Millionare Next Door" that discusses this in depth. It talks about those who live "high maintenance lifestyles" verses those who tend to save and live within their means. I remember one good example from a medium sized city where a lawyer and a house trailer businessman both made the same annual income. To maintain appearances fitting with his position, the lawyer lived in a very expensive house, drove flashy sports cars, and wore very expensive clothing (as did everyone in his family). The businessman had no such illusions to maintain. He drove an old pickup truck and wore ordinary clothes. He was worth millions while the lawyer was essentially broke despite a high 6 figure income.

*The most spectacular example was a former boss of mine. He founded a company and built it to over 600 employees. He was a hell of a guy and everyone loved him. He sold the company for many million dollars when he had to move for health reasons, only to lose everything due to a gambling addiction. He once lost $13 million in a single day. The last I heard, he was facing possible jail time because he wasn't able to pay his gambling debts.

**One of my nieces is married to a good, hard-working man. He has years of experience managing pizza restaurants in Colorado. Last year, he had an opportunity too good to pass up to buy his own franchise in Utah. After a year of 80+ hour weeks, he recently closed his business because he couldn't make enough to be worth the effort. Sometimes you own the business and other times, it owns you. He's a good man and won't be down for long.