Facts and figures

Of the total surveyed, 25,85% have visual impairments; 28,1% hearing issues, 19,38% communication problems; 16,63% disabilities associated with learning, applying knowledge and developing tasks; 66,94% mobility problems; 48,17% have self-care issues; 54,9% have limitations in their domestic life; and 16,4% have disabilities in their interpersonal interactions and relationships

Data on employment indicate that:

Employment rates for disabled people in Spain are lower compared with other EU countries. 62.12% of the active disabled population are unemployed, 43.74% want non-qualified jobs and 16.68% lack a previous employment background, with disabled women having lower percentages. (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales. Observatorio Ocupacional del Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal, 2008.

The general population aged 16-64 have employment rates higher than their disabled peers (55% vs. 26%) All men aged between 25-44 have an employment rate of 85% (39% for disabled men), whereas the female rate is 52% (19% for disabled women). 75% of the male population aged 45-64 are employed (33% of disabled men). Over 64, 29% of the total female population are employed compared with14% for disabled women Instituto Nacional de Estadística (National Institute on Statistics) (2008).

In 2007, 84,893 disabled people (2.8% of total unemployed general population) wanted employment. Those with a physical disability accounted for 54.3% of total requests, followed by those who have intellectual disabilities (18.5%), sensory disabilities (13.1%), and language disorders (0.7%). In addition, 13.4% of disabled workers wanting employment had not declared a disability. 

In 2008, hired disabled employees accounted for 0.9% of total employment contracts, with 1.1% of disabled people in labor market. Between 2003 and 2005 employment contracts for disabled people increased by 39.3% (Observatorio Ocupacional del Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal; 2008)

Numbers of workers in sheltered workshops have been increasing since they were established in 1985. In 2007, around 47,000 people with disabilities were working in 1,600 sheltered workshops. People employed in sheltered workshops have the same legal rights as any other employee. (International Disability Rights Monitor, 2007).

2008, the Foundation Empresa-Sociedad presented seven proposals to Spanish political parties with the aim of adapting public policies and setting priorities. Among these was the inclusion of a permanent module on the National Survey on Active Population (EPA) to include statistical information on employment of the disabled population, given the lack of national data.

Data on education indicate that:

1-2% of school age children have special educational needs (Peralta, 2006).

Special education students are underrepresented as the level of education increases, with the participation rate declining to 0.1-0.2% for older students in upper secondary education and vocational / professional training. (Peralta, 2006)

Individuals with disabilities have lower levels of literacy and educational achievement compared with compared to their peers who do not have limitations (National Institute on Statistics, 2008).

In 2005/6, 22.1% of pupils with special educational needs were in special education, either separate schools or special units in mainstreams schools (Eurybase, 2007/8)

Data on accessibility indicate that:

The National Plan on Accessibility (2007) outlines a number of issues such as: structural (lack of legislation, lack of involvement from users) and technical issues (mobile phones, internet accessibility, ATM machines), transportation, urban and building barriers.

The National Plan on Accessibility 2004 found that:

100% of houses and public buildings evaluated failed at least one of the accessibility requirements. 96% of the causes were found to be inside buildings as well as entrance steps. There were major problems with pavements and road crossings.

Public transport was also found to be poor. Despite increased awareness, bus transport, in particular interurban links, did not reach the minimum accessibility level. Sea and air travel presented deficiencies, as did the railway system, especially local trains. There are parking cards for people with reduced mobility, but conditions vary in each Municipality. (International Disability Rights Monitor, 2007)

Data from the 2007 MeAC accessibility survey (2007) showed that:

3 out of 5 selected public web sites and 2 out of 6 private/sectoral sites passed the automatic evaluation.

The main emergency number was directly accessible by means of text telephones and text relay and video relay services were available. The two main mobile telephony operators and one of the two main landline operators provided eAccessibility information via their websites.

The two main public (75% and 90%) and two commercial (20% and 12%) TV channels provided programmes with subtitling. Public (5% and 15%) but not commercial channels provided some signing. Neither provided programmes with audio description.

Neither of the two main retail banks had installed talking ATMs but one other bank had deployed at least some (31) talking ATMs.

Data on poverty and incomes indicate that:

Risk of poverty in Spain 2007 compared to the EU-27, before social transferences, is equal to that in Greece and Portugal, and higher than that in Slovenia, Luxembourg, Malta, Cyprus, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Rates of risk of poverty in Spain 2007, after social transferences, are higher than the rest of the European countries, with the exception of Latvia. (Observatorio Social de Datos, 2008),

Report on Social Inclusion in Spain (Gómez Granell, 2008),identifies the poverty rate as 19.7%. People aged 65 or older and 16 or younger are at risk of experiencing moderate poverty, and children at risk of experiencing severe and moderate poverty.

Living alone is a risk factor.  73% of disabled women aged 40-59 are married, as are 40% of disabled women over 60. 60% (which includes those under 40) may need support from relatives, neighbors, or social services. (National Institute on Statistics; 2008)

Data on attitudes indicate that:

There are still several legal barriers for disabled people concerning: disablement, adoption, jury; participation as witnesses in and civil participation. Further barriers related to inclusion include communication, education employment, health, housing, institutionalization; access culture, sports and leisure time (Fundación ONCE, 2008  Fundación Once, 2008).

In sum, disabled people face different issues, such as, inferior social status, inferior employment status (activity, employment, and unemployment rates).

The 2007 Special Eurobarometer on Discrimination in Europe showed that 57% of people knew someone who was disabled (compared to 55% EU average) and 82% acknowledged that being disabled tended to be disadvantage in society (EU average 79%).

Disability discrimination was viewed as widespread by 54% (EU average 53%); 29% thought that disability discrimination was more widespread than five years ago. 40% thought that not enough was being done to combat discrimination in general in France (EU average 51%).

80% thought that more disabled people should be in the workplace (EU average 74%) and 91% thought specific measures on equal opportunities were needed in this field.

Data on public spending indicate that:

Data on public spending from 2006 (Torres, 2008), indicated that Spain invested 38.6% of its gross national product on public expenditures, with six EU countries investing more than Spain. Concerning expenditure in social protection, in 2004 (Key Figures in Europe 2007/2008, Eurostat, p.89) Spain spending was 20% of its GDP, which was lower than spending from EU-25 (27.3%), as well as lower than Euro Area (27.7%).

In general, public spending in Spain is lower than spending in the UE-15, UE-25, and the UE-27. In 2005 total spending on Social Exclusion in Spain was 0.2% of its gross national product (Observatorio Social de España, 2008),

In 2007 10.6% of Spaniards were working in public administration (education, health, social care, etc.). (Observatorio Social de España, 2008),

Spain spent 12.8% of its 2006 gross national product on social protection. 1.5% of this was spent on disability (Observatorio Social de España, 2008)