The share of disability benefits continues to increase

In 2019, 34,665 new disability benefits were registered in Norway, figures show Statistics Norway.

In total, there were 364,005 at the end of 2019, representing 10.5 percent of the population. Five years ago, the proportion was 9.7 per cent, and the proportion has mostly risen steadily in recent years.

The risk of being disabled is closely related to the level of education. While only 4.3 percent of those with a higher education qualify for disability benefits, 21.8 percent of those with only elementary education receive disability benefits.

Østfold has the highest proportion of people with disabilities, with 15.2 per cent of the population, while Oslo has the lowest, with 6.1 per cent.

Statistics also show that immigrants to a lesser extent than the population are otherwise disabled. Among immigrants from the EU / EEA countries and the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, 2.6 per cent is disabled. Among immigrants from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Oceania and Europe otherwise, 8.1 per cent is disabled. For the population otherwise, the proportion is 11.6 per cent

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