countries - Germany

The information contained on this page was compiled in April 2009 by our country  team.

Contact:
Prof Dr. Anne Waldschmidt
University of Cologne
Faculty of Human Sciences
iDiS - International Research Unit Disability Studies
Web: http://idis.uni-koeln.de
Email: anne.waldschmidt@uni-koeln.de

The full text can be downloaded here.

The key national bodies with responsibility for disability law and policy implementation include:

Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS) [Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Security] The Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Security is a body of the German Government; it is responsible for social policies at the federal level concerning the participation of disabled people in society.

Germany has signed the United Nations Convention andt the Optional Protocol.

Important national laws, policies and strategies concerning disabled people include:

Key features of the national system include (including adapted items from the MISSOC database December 2008):

Disability benefits

Finance for social protection is raised through contributions (personal insurance, and employers' contributions) and taxes (MISSOC, 2008)

Data on population indicate that:

The third Federal Report on Poverty and Wealth in Germany provides latest data on people with disabilities in Germany. According to this report, there are at present approximately 8.6 million disabled people living in Germany. Around three quarters are at least 55 years old. 

iDiS - International Research Unit Disability Studies This research unit is affiliated with the Faculty of Human Sciences of the University of Cologne, Germany. Main activities focus on research and networking in the fields of Disability Studies and European disability policies.

Arbeitsgemeinschaft Disability Studies in Deutschland [working group on Disability Studies in Germany] This working group is a network of disabled scientists and activists. It aims at developing and promoting critical Disability Studies in Germany

The national organisation representing disabled people at the European level (European Disability Forum) is:

Deutscher Behindertenrat [German Disability Council]: The German Disability Council is an association of more than 40 disabled people's organizations whose overall membership represents more than 2.5 million disabled people in Germany (although it does not possess a general mandate of representation).

Useful sources of more detailed information about the situation of disabled people, and the policies and support available, include:

The best source for information about disability policies in Germany is probably the web site of the Federal Ompudsperson for People with Disabilities

Anyone interested in news should go to Kobinet News