More than 25% of EU citizens with disabilities face financial struggle

Around 25.5% of EU citizens aged 16 and over with disabilities struggled to make ends meet in 2023. That share dropped to 16.2% when it came to non-disabled people.

According to Eurostat, Greece and Bulgaria were the two EU countries with the highest percentage of people with disabilities from households that reported suffering financial difficulties.

By contrast, Luxembourg (10.5%), Finland (11.2%), the Netherlands (12%) and Sweden (16.5%) saw the lowest shares.

It is estimated that one in four adults in the European Union has some form of disability. On average, this applied to 29.2% of the total female population, compared to 24.3% of the total male population.

Financial struggles extend beyond daily expenses

Financial struggles can also impact opportunities for leisure and relaxation. 

More than 40% of people in the EU with disabilities were unable to afford a week of holiday per year, compared with 24.2% of those without any disability.

This issue was notably more significant amongst those with disabilities in countries located in the east of the EU, with Romania (73.5%), Bulgaria (70%) and Hungary (64.7%) occupying the top positions.

Luxembourg (16.6%) and Finland (18.7%) had the lowest figures in the bloc.

EU commitment to disability rights

Earlier this month, the European Union reinforced its commitment to ensuring cross-border mobility for people with disabilities through the formal adoption of the EU disability card.    

This card will ensure equal access to benefits like reduced tariffs, guaranteed use of parking spaces and priority access across public and private services in Europe.

While seen as a positive step, the EU disability card’s implementation timeline has faced criticism. Member states will have 30 months to adapt and 12 additional months to apply the new rules, meaning that it will take almost three-and-a-half years for the policy to take full effect.