1 in 4 people in the EU reported long-standing limitations in usual activities in 2015 | WPN World People News

A quarter (25.3%) of the population aged 16 or over in the European Union (EU) reported long-standing limitations, i.e. some or severe long-standing limitation in usual activities due to health problems in 2015. This means that they feel limited in performing everyday activities, such as studying at school, occupational activities, housekeeping or participating in leisure activities for six months or longer.

In 2015, women were more likely to report long-standing limitations than men. In the EU, a gap of 4.5 percentage points can be observed between the share of long-standing limitations among women (27.5%) and men (23.0%). Moreover, the reported long-standing limitation tends to decrease with the level of income. Almost a third (31.2%) of the poorest (i.e. the 20% of the population with the lowest income) in the EU reported long-standing limitations in usual activities, compared with 17.0% of the richest (i.e. the 20% of the population with the highest income).

This information is issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December.

Lowest shares of long-standing limitation in Malta and Sweden, highest in Latvia and Portugal

Across the EU Member States in 2015, the lowest proportions of self-perceived long-standing limitations in usual activities were reported in Malta (9.7%) and Sweden (11.1%), and the highest in Latvia (38.4%), Portugal (36.1%), Croatia (35.1%), Estonia (35.0%), Austria and Finland (both 33.1%).

In all EU Member States, the share of women reporting long-standing limitations was higher than for men, with the widest gaps being observed in Portugal (41.0% for women vs. 30.6% for men, or a difference of 10.4 percentage points – pp), Finland (9.4 pp), the Netherlands and Romania (both 8.8 pp) as well as Latvia (8.7 pp). In contrast, the situation was more balanced between genders in Germany (21.7% for women vs. 20.6% for men, or a 1.1 pp difference), Cyprus (1.2 pp), Ireland and Malta (both 1.8 pp).
Self

Income seems to play a role

In every EU Member State except Greece, the share of those reporting some or severe long-standing limitations in usual activities was much higher in the two lowest income groups and decreased progressively as income increased.

The largest difference in the share of the population reporting some or severe long-standing limitations between the poorest part (first or second quintile depending on which has the highest level of limitations in the country) and the richest part (fifth quintile) of the population was observed in Estonia (51.8% for the poorest vs 18.3% for the richest, or a difference of 33.5 pp), followed by Lithuania (30.7 pp) and Latvia (29.0 pp). In contrast, the smallest differences in the shares of self-reported long-standing limitations were notably observed in Italy (10.9 pp) and Romania (11.3 pp).

Geographical information
The European Union (EU) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Methods and definitions

Data presented in this News Release are based on the EU-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). The EU-SILC survey is the EU reference source for comparative statistics on income distribution, poverty and living conditions.

Data refer to population aged 16 or over living in private households residing in the territory of the country at the time of data collection. All indicators are expressed as percentages within the population and statistics are broken down by sex and income quintile group.

Self-reported long-standing limitation is here defined as some or severe long-standing limitation in usual activities due to health problems (often referred to as long-standing limitation) for at least six months. It measures the respondent’s selfassessment of whether he/she is limited (in 'activities people usually do') by any on-going physical, mental or emotional health problem, including disease or impairment, and old age. Consequences of injuries/accidents, congenital conditions, and other, are all included. Only the limitations directly caused by or related to one or more health problems are considered. Limitations due to financial, cultural or other none health-related causes are not taken into account. Usual activities cover all spectrums of activities: work or school, home and leisure activities.

Income quintile groups are computed on the basis of the total equivalised disposable income attributed to each member of the household. The data (of each person) are ordered according to the value of the total equivalised disposable income. Four cutpoint values (the so-called quintile cut-off points) of income are identified, dividing the survey population into five groups equally represented by 20% of individuals each. The first quintile group represents the 20% of the population with the lowest income (an income smaller or equal to the first cut-off value), and the fifth quintile group represents the 20% of population with the highest income (an income greater than the fourth cut-off value).

Source: European Commission