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Who are Europe’s champions of disability exclusion?

Who are Europe’s champions of disability exclusion?

Being a person with disabilities in the European Union can feel a bit like a postcode lottery. Your daily reality will likely depend on where you live. It is not just a question of whether you live in a big city or a rural area. The country you live in also plays a big role.

Eurostat is the statistics agency of the European Union. It coordinates with EU countries to collect and analyse information on the lived realities of persons with disabilities. This allows us to compare the situation in different EU countries.

Which countries are Europe’s worst performers?

We will focus on 3 crucial themes for persons with disabilities:

  • Poverty and the inability to make ends meet
  • Unmet health needs and health costs
  • School completion among persons with disabilities.

Who are our sad champions in this hall of shame?

Poverty and social exclusion

28.8% of persons with disabilities aged 16 or over 16 years-old are at risk of poverty and social exclusion in the EU. However, a number of EU countries fare far worse. The EU countries in question and the percentage of persons with disabilities at risk of poverty and social exclusion are the following:

  1. Lithuania: 50.5% (21.9% for persons without disabilities)
  2. Latvia: 42.6% (18.1% for persons without disabilities)
  3. Bulgaria: 42.3% (26.6% for persons without disabilities)
  4. Croatia: 39.8% (15.6% for persons without disabilities)
  5. Romania: 37% (23.2% for persons without disabilities)
A map of Europe with EU countries colored and others grey. It compares the percentage of persons with disabilities living in poverty. The map has 3 colours. Red for countries that are well above the EU average of poverty (over 35%): Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Estonia, Malta, Greece In yellow, countries above the EU average (28.8% to 35%): Cyprus, Ireland, Spain and Germain Remaining countries in green are under the average: Denmark, Hungary, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, France, Belgium, Slovenia, Polan, Netherlands, Finland, Austria, Slovakia, Czechia
A map comparing EU countries’ percentage of persons with disabilities living in poverty

Discover the full statistics on poverty on the EUROSTAT website

Inability to make ends meet

 

This refers to how easily a person can pay necessary expenses with their income.

On average in the EU,  9.1% of people with disabilities have difficulty make ends meet.  The Member States that perform the worst are:

  1. Greece: 46.3% (32.3% for people without disabilities)
  2. Bulgaria: 19.4% (9.7% for people without disabilities)
  3. Portugal: 13.9% (6.7% for people without disabilities)
  4. Romania: 13.8% (7.6% for people without disabilities)
  5. Spain: 12.4% (6.9% for people without disabilities)
A map of Europe with EU countries colored and others grey. It compares persons with disabiltiies having difficulties ‘making ends meet’ The map has 3 colours. Red for countries that are well above the EU average o(over 12%): Greece? Bulgaria, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Italy In yellow, countries above the EU average (9.1% to 12%): Ireland, Hungary, France, Slovakia, Belgiul, Latvia, Sweden, Malta Remaining countries in green are under the average: Croatia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Czechia, Poland, Lithuania, Finland, Germany, Netherlands
Map showing inability to make ends meet for persons with disabilities in EU countries

Review the statistics on inability to make ends meet

Map comparing percentage of persons with disabilities that have difficulties making ends meet

Unmet health needs

4.8% of persons with disabilities in the EU report having unmet health needs, compared to just 1.6% of people without disabilities.

The Member States that perform the worst are:

  1. Greece: 32.9% (6.9% for persons without disabilities)
  2. Finland: 14.7% (4% for persons without disabilities)
  3. Latvia: 14.1% (4% for persons without disabilities)
  4. Estonia: 12.9% (5% for persons without disabilities)
  5. Romania: 9% (1.3% for persons without disabilities)
A map of Europe with EU countries colored and others grey. It compares the unmet health needs for persons with disabilitiesThe map has 3 colours. Red for countries that are well above the EU average(over 9%): Greece, Finland, Latvian Estonia, Romania, In yellow, countries above the EU average (4.8% to 9%): France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Denmark, Portugal Remaining countries in green are under the average: Croatia, Spain, Sweden, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Czechia, Cyprus and Malta
Map comparing EU countries’ percentage of persons with disabilities with unmet health needs

Review the statistics on unmet health needs.

Early school leavers

Young people with disabilities are much more likely to drop out of school early compared to their non-disabled peers. In the EU in 2024, 24.8% of all young people with a disability drop out of school early, compared to 8% of those without disabilities. We analysed people between 18 and 24 years of age who reported that they left school before compulsory education was completed.

The Member States where most young people with disabilities drop out of school early are:

  1. Romania: 61.6% (16.1% for learners without disabilities)
  2. Greece: 58.8% (1.2% for learners without disabilities)
  3. Bulgaria: 54.3% (8% for learners without disabilities)
  4. Lithuania: 42.5% (6% for learners without disabilities)
  5. Hungary: 41.2% (9.5% for learners without disabilities)
A map of Europe with EU countries colored and others grey. We analysed people with disabilities between 18 and 24 years of age who reported that they left school before compulsory education was completedThe map has 3 colours. Red for countries that are well above the EU average o(over 35%): Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia, Latvia, Czechia, Poland, Malta In yellow, countries above the EU average (24.8% to 35%): Spain, Cyprus, Germany, Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Belgium, Estonia Remaining countries in green are under the average: Austria, Denmark, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Finland
Map comparing EU countries’ percentage of young persons with disabilities who are early school leavers

Discover the percentage of early school leavers with disabilities in all the EU countries