Living with a disability in Europe: impacts on economic security, digital accessibility and social belonging

Living with a disability in Europe: impacts on economic security, digital accessibility and social belonging

On 26 February 2026, the European Commission published an article exploring the impacts of living with a disability on three dimensions of inclusion: economic security, digital accessibility and social belonging.

Economic Security

On average, in 2024, while 14.2% of people without disabilities in the EU were at risk of poverty, this figure was 20.6% for people with disabilities, with wide variations among EU countries. 

In some cases, higher investment in disability-related benefits coincides with lower poverty rates among people with disabilities. Interestingly, this relationship is not universal: Czechia and Slovakia record some of the lowest poverty rates among people with disabilities despite spending below the EU average, suggesting that poverty outcomes are shaped by a wider mix of factors, including how effectively people with disabilities are included in the labour market.

Employment plays a central role in this picture. For many people with disabilities, access to employment remains a major challenge. In 2024, the average EU employment rate was 52.7% for persons without disabilities, this rate being 76.7% for persons with disabilities. 

Digital Accessibility of public services

The article ranks Member States by their overall accessibility score. It also displays accessibility scores for three selected groups of public services – career, health and justice – representing common life events such as applying for employment-related services, accessing health information and interacting with legal systems.

At the EU level, accessibility varies across the three service categories. On average, justice-related and career-related services score highest (both around 51 out of 100), while health-related digital services lag behind (38).

Social Belonging

The article also explores how often people with disabilities report feeling left out of society, comparing people with some and severe activity limitations across EU Member States. The data reveal a clear, and perhaps expected, pattern: people with severe disabilities are consistently more likely to feel left out than those with milder limitations.

While this gap is present in every Member State, its size varies considerably.Interestingly, Member States with comparatively strong welfare systems also appear among those with higher levels of reported social exclusion among people with severe disabilities This suggests that perceived inclusion is shaped by more than economic support alone. Everyday social experiences, the availability of informal support such as family or carers, and how inclusion is experienced in daily life may all influence whether people feel connected or isolated.

Article “Living with disability in Europe” available here.