People with disabilities in Romania are at high risk of poverty and social exclusion

Romania has one of the highest proportions of people over the age of 16 with disabilities who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion in Europe, according to Eurostat data.

In 2024, 38.4% of all people with disabilities in Romania were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to the EU average of 28.7%. High rates of risk of poverty and social exclusion are also found in Lithuania (45.8%), Bulgaria (43.5%), and Croatia (40.2%), and lower rates in countries such as the Czech Republic (15.6%), Slovakia (19.7%), and Austria (21.5%).

Although it remains high, the percentage of people with disabilities in Romania facing the risk of poverty and social exclusion has fallen by more than 10% over the last decade, from 49.1% in 2015 to 45.2% in 2020, reaching 38.4% in 2024, while at European level the decrease in the risk of poverty and social exclusion was insignificant, from 30.4% in 2015 to 28.7% in 2024.

The risk of poverty and social exclusion remains much higher among people with disabilities in Romania compared to the same risk among people without disabilities (38.5% versus 24.1%), with Romania having one of the largest gaps between the two groups in the EU, at around 14%. This suggests that disability is a structural barrier to accessing a standard of living that ensures subsistence and a decent life.

The main explanation for the high percentage of persons with disabilities at risk of poverty or social exclusion is the large number of persons experiencing severe material and social deprivation. Although it has decreased significantly over the last 10 years (from 41% in 2015 to 26.7% in 2024), Romania continues to be significantly below the EU average (10.4%), ranking alongside Bulgaria (27.1%) among the countries with the highest rates of severe material and social deprivation. At the same time, Romania has the largest gap between persons with and without disabilities in terms of this indicator compared to other Member States (13%).

Another explanation for the decrease in the proportion of people with disabilities at risk of poverty or social exclusion is the high impact of social transfers (allowances, pensions, social assistance) on reducing the risk of monetary poverty. In practice, in 2024, the proportion of people with disabilities at risk of poverty before social transfers was 78.5%, reaching 22% after social transfers. Therefore, social transfers, which include pensions, allowances, benefits, and tax exemptions, reduced poverty by 56%. The reduction is similar to the EU average, which had 68% of people with disabilities at risk of poverty before social transfers and 21% after social transfers.

While the proportion of the population at risk of poverty does not differ substantially according to disability, the greatest difficulty for people with disabilities is the high percentage who face material and social deprivation. This can be explained by the fact that people with disabilities generally have high expenses arising from their disability, which reduces the household's ability to afford goods considered essential for a reasonable standard of living. The fact that social transfers (including pensions or allowances) substantially reduce the proportion of persons with disabilities at risk of poverty is evidence that the social transfer scheme is adequate and should be maintained or even expanded. One policy solution could be to exclude income from disability benefits when calculating eligibility and conditions (e.g., community service, inability to refuse a job, mandatory participation in job fairs, number of school absences) for the minimum inclusion income aimed at reducing poverty.

Therefore, in order to mitigate the structural barriers caused by disability, it is necessary to maintain an extensive package of monetary and non-monetary benefits non-monetary benefits, as well as exemptions from taxes, contributions, and duties for persons with disabilities, but also to extend them in order to reduce the number of persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion and, in particular, severe material and social deprivation.

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Data source:

• Eurostat - Persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion by level of disability (activity limitation), sex and age https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/bookmark/a07f1abc-8262-43f3-b8f0-d767f4b5052c?lang=en&createdAt=2026-01-08T14:15:47Z
• Eurostat - Severe material and social deprivation rate by level of disability (activity limitation), sex and age https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_dm010/default/table?lang=en
• Eurostat - Persons at risk of poverty by level of disability (activity limitation), sex and age
• https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/bookmark/d5dd7c97-148d-40bd-b70b-688988eca92f?lang=en&createdAt=2026-01-08T14:40:14Z
• Eurostat - Persons at risk of poverty before social transfers (pensions included in social transfers) by level of disability (activity limitation), sex and age https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_dpe030/default/table?lang=en

Data processing and text design: Sebastian Țoc

Infographic: Pascalone Media SRL

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