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Facts and Figures
Europe

Europe Wide

  • Disability - 14.5% of the working age population in the 15 member states (excluding Sweden) have a recognised disability. This figure rises to 25% for the ten new member states.
  • The average percentage of the population who are people with disabilities varies significantly from one country to another. In Romania, 5.8% of the population have a recognised disability while in Finland 32.2% of the population have a disability.
  • 42% of people with disabilities in the EU are in employment compared to 65% of non disabled people.
  • 52% of disabled people are economically inactive compared to 28% of non disabled people.
  • Gender - On average women in the EU still earn 15% less than men. Approximately 30.4% of women are in part-time employment compared to 6.6% of men in the EU.
Northern Ireland
  • Age – 13.26% of Northern Ireland’s population is over the age of 65.
  • Carers – There are said to be over 250,000 carers in Northern Ireland.
  • Disability – 20.5% of the Northern Ireland population have a recognised disability.
  • The prevalence of disability increases with age – for example, 46.4% of people over 65 have a disability which limits day to day activities.
  • 35% of people with disabilities are in employment compared to 77% of people without disabilities
  • Race and Ethnicity – Census figures estimate that only 0.85% of the Northern Ireland population are from Ethnic and Minority communities. This is compared to 9% of the population in Great Britain.
  • Between April 2004 and March 2005, 634 racially motivated crimes committed in Northern Ireland.
  • Religious Belief - 0.3% of Northern Ireland population practise other religions apart from Protestant or Catholic while 13.88% did not state a religion.
  • However (including those ‘lapsed’) majority of people brought up in a specific tradition - 43.8% Catholic, 53.1% Protestant.
  • Gender – 51.26% of the Northern Ireland Population is female. Women’s earnings are still roughly only 84% of men’s despite 30 years of equal pay laws.
  • Sexual Orientation - Kinsey report and subsequent research, suggests 1 in 10 people, translating to 168,527 people who are not heterosexual in Northern Ireland.
  • There were a total of 151 homophobic crimes recorded during 2004/05
Republic of Ireland

  • Disability - According to the Central Statistics Office in Ireland, 8% of the total population have a recognised disability.
  • Religion – 88% of the population in the Republic of Ireland is Roman Catholic
  • Gender – 50.3% of the population in Ireland is female.
North America
  • Disability - 20% or 43 million Americans have a recognised disability.
  • Only 35% of people with disabilities in the US are in employment compared to 78% of people who do not have a disability.
  • In a survey in 2004, 22% of people with disabilities encountered discrimination in employment compared to 36% in a similar survey four years ago.
  • Further statistics in relation to people with disabilities can be found at the website of Cornell University www.ilr.cornell.edu/ped/disabilitystatistics
  • Age - There were 17,837 cases of age discrimination in employment in 2004 resulting in over $60 million in compensation.
  • Race and Ethnicity - Hate Crimes – 44.9% of hate crimes in the US are on the basis of racial prejudice.
  • Gender – 95% of the top earning corporate officers are still men.
Australia

  • Disability – Approximately 16% of the Australian population have a disability.
  • 56% of older people have a recognised disability with 22% having a severe disability.
  • 53% of people with disabilities at working age are employed compared to 81% of people who do not have a disability. 8.6% of people with a disability are unemployed compared to 5% of people without a disability.
  • Race and Ethnicity – 43% of the Australian population were either born outside the country or have at least one parent born outside the country. 16% of the population do not use English as their first language.
  • Carers – Approximately 2 million Australians care for a family member whether that is a child, older relative or a person with a disability.
  • Gender – The gap between earnings remains at 8% in favour of men obtaining higher weekly wages than women.
  • Statistics obtained from the Australia Bureau of statistics at www.abs.gov.au and the government’s main website on diversity at www.diversityaustralia.gov.au/research/03.htm