Back 1 in 4 people in the EU have a long-term disability

3 December 2018

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A quarter of the European Union (EU) population aged 16 or over reported long-standing disabilities in 2017. This means that they felt some, or severe limitations in performing everyday activities such as studying at school, work, housekeeping or in participating in leisure activities, for a period of six months or longer.

bar chart: population reporting long-standing disabilities 2017

 

The source data are here.

Across the EU Member States in 2017, the lowest proportions of self-perceived long-standing disabilities were reported in Malta (12%) and Sweden (13%), and the highest in Latvia (41%), Slovenia (36%) and Estonia (35%).

Women were more likely to report long-standing disabilities than men (27% compared to 22%) in 2017.

This information is published today to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

 

For more information on health statistics, take a look at the overview page on the Eurostat website and the relevant data tables available on the Eurostat website.

 

To contact us: estat-user-support@ec.europa.eu