In 2024, 9.4% of people with disabilities (activity limitation) aged 16 or over, in the EU, felt discriminated against when in contact with administrative offices or public services, more than double the share registered among people without disabilities (4.0%).
When looking for housing, 8.2% of people with disabilities felt discriminated against compared to 5.2% of people without any disability.
Similarly, in public spaces and education institutions, more people with disabilities reported feeling discriminated against than people without disabilities: 5.0% vs 3.0% in public places and 4.1% vs 2.3% in education institutions.
Source dataset: ilc_atsd01
Highest self-perceived discrimination rates among people with disabilities in public spaces: Estonia and Spain
At the national level, in all EU countries, the shares of people with disabilities who felt discriminated against in administrative offices and public services were higher than among those without.
In 2024, the highest shares were recorded in Estonia (14.6%) and Spain (14.5%). These were followed by Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden with 12.8%, 12.5% and 12.3%, respectively. The lowest shares were in Cyprus and Italy (both 3.1%), Croatia (4.3%) and Hungary (4.5%).
Source dataset: ilc_atsd01
This news article marks the beginning of EU Diversity Month, which this year raises awareness about the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and across our societies.
For more information
- Statistics Explained article on living conditions in Europe - self-perceived discrimination
- Thematic section equality and non-discrimination
- Database on equality and non-discrimination
- Thematic section on income and living conditions
- Database on income and living conditions
- Key figures on European living conditions – 2025 edition
Methodological notes
- Discrimination is the unfair or prejudicial treatment of people and groups based on the protected characteristics in the EU law: sex, age, disability, religion or belief, ethnic or racial origin and sexual orientation. Self-perceived discrimination refers to the self-reported experience of discrimination. It is measured by asking individuals if they have felt, in the last 12 months (last 5 years for housing), personally discriminated against in a certain number of situations.
- Subjective perceptions of discrimination, as measured through surveys, can be influenced by various factors, including individuals’ awareness, expectations, the legal context and the degree of societal acceptance. As a result, these factors can significantly impact the reporting of discrimination and affect the comparability of data across different population groups, countries, or cultural settings.
- Disability is approximated according to the concept of global activity limitation, which is defined as self-assessment of own level of limitation – because of health problems – in carrying out usual activities, for at least the previous 6 months (that is, being limited or severely limited in an everyday activity that people usually do).
- Luxembourg: data not available.
- Lithuania: provisional data.
- Portugal: low-reliability data.
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| Zařazeno | po 04.05.2026 11:05:00 |
|---|---|
| Zdroj | Eurostat - news |
| Originál | ec.europa.eu/eurostat/product?code=edn-20260504-1 |
| lang | en |
| Autor | Eurostat |
