Data are scarce and often imprecise. On Thursday February 2, the Research Department for Evaluation Studies and Statistics (DREES) published a new study on the number of people with disabilities in France.
The Daily life and health survey is the first survey of the Autonomy 2021-2025 system, a major ten-year survey system on disability and loss of autonomy. “She permits a first count people who report a restriction of activity in everyday life or functional limitations”, details the DREES. In total, 334,000 people responded to this survey in 2021.
Thanks to these vast data, it is possible to affirm that 7.7 million people report a severe limitation or restriction in daily activities in 2021 in France. “In 2021, the proportion of people aged 15 or over living at home who are disabled in France is estimated at 14% by mobilizing two declarative criteria: being severely restricted for health reasons in the activities of daily life, or be severely limited, whether from a sensory, physical or cognitive point of view”, reports the Drees.
Before completing: “The proportion of people with disabilities is increasing with age : before the age of 60, 9% have a severe functional limitation or declare a strong restriction of activity, against 25% among people aged 60 or over”.
Disparities
With this survey, the DREES was also able to observe geographical disparities. In Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Île-de-France, Guyana and Mayotte, 12% to 13% of people aged 15 or over report a severe functional limitation. In Guadeloupe, Martinique and Corsica, this figure climbs to nearly 19%. “If we correct the age structure of the population, the prevalence of disability appears to be significantly higher than the average for the whole territory in the five overseas departments – especially in Mayotte -, in Corsica and in the Hauts- de-France”, summarizes the report.
This study also reports that women are more often affected by a severe physical limitation (15% of women against 13% of men).