On the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, celebrated annually on December 3, the National Bureau of Statistics presents information regarding the situation of persons with disabilities in 2023.
As of January 1, 2024, according to the data from the National Office of Social Insurance, the number of people recognized as having disabilities in the Republic of Moldova accounted for 161.9 thousand persons, including 11.4 thousand children aged 0-17 years. People with disabilities represented 6.7% of the usual resident population, while children with disabilities accounted for 2.2% of the total number of children (under 18 years) with usual residence in the Republic of Moldova.
Primary Disability
According to the data from the National Council for the Determination of Disability and Work Capability, in 2023, 14.3 thousand people applied for disability assessment. Of these, 12.9 thousand people (90.5%) were recognized with primary disability, including 11.2 thousand adults (86.9%) and 1.6 thousand children (13.1%).
Social protection of people with disabilities
According to the data of the National Office of Social Insurance of the Republic of Moldova, on January 1, 2024, the average size of the disability pension amounted 2451.4 MDL compared to the average size of the pension per total pensioners – 3676.7 MDL. The average size of the pension varied amounting to 1836.3 lei for persons with medium disability, 2637.6 lei for persons with accentuated disability, and 2950.8 lei for those with severe disability.
Children with mental or physical disability in educational institutions
In the 2023/24 academic year, 10,4 thousand students with mental or physical disability were enrolled in the country's educational institutions, including 9,9 thousand students in general education institutions and 0,5 thousand students in schools for children with mental or physical impairments.
People with disabilities in the labor market
According to the Labour Force Survey data, the labour force participation rate of persons with disabilities, in 2023, accounted for 17,0% compared to 49,2% for persons without disabilities. Among disabled men, the participation rate accounted for 16,0% and for women 18,2%. In the urban area, the participation rate accounted for 21,1%, and in the rural area – 15,3%.
Living standards of households with a disabled person
According to the Household Budget Survey data, in 2023, 12.5% of all households included at least one person with disability. Of these households, 30.3% were composed exclusively of persons with disabilities, while the remaining 69.7% included other members as well. Among the total households with a disabled person, in 92.3%, the individuals with disabilities were adults, while in 7.7% they were children.
Note:
1 Information is presented without the data on districts from the left side of the river Nistru and municipality Bender, except for the data regarding: i) the number of people recognized with disabilities, including primary and repeated disabilities (data include individuals from the left from the left side of the river Nistru who applied for disability determination) and ii) the number of children with disabilities and special educational needs enrolled in educational institutions (data include the children from educational institutions located on the left side of the river Nistru under the Ministry of Education and Research).
More detailed information is available in Romanian langauage.