countries - Iceland

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

Contact:
Prof. Rannveig Traustadóttir, Hanna Björg Sigurjónsdóttir and James G. Rice
Centre for Disability Studies
University of Iceland
Oddi, Sturlugata
101 Reykjavík, Iceland

Email: rannvt@hi.is
Web: http://www.fotlunarfraedi.hi.is/

The full text can be downloaded here.

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

Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Security (Félags- og tryggingamálráðuneytið) assumes the overall responsibility for disabled people in Iceland through the Affairs of Disabled People (Málefni fatlaðra). This is further subdivided into Regional Offices. The disability pension system is administered by the Ministry of Social Affairs and The Social Insurance Administration of Iceland (Tryggingastofnun ríkisins).

Iceland has signed the United Nations Convention and  the Optional Protocol.

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

Act on the affairs of people with disabilities No. 59/1992 (Lög um málefni fatlaðra nr. 59/1992)

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

Disability benefits

In 2008,  14103 people received the full disability pension, or 4.4% of the general population, composed of 5473 men and 8630 women respectively.

Data on population indicate that:

According to figures from 2008 from the Social Insurance Administration of Iceland (Tryggingastofnun ríkisins), a total of 14,103 people received a disability pension; 651 people received the partial disability allowance; and 1,137 people received a rehabilitation pension.

Icelandic Network on Disability Research (INDR)

Icelandic Network on Disability Research is part of the Nordic Network on Disability Research (NNDR). Its purpose is to create an arena for discussion, bolster research, collaborative projects and publications, as well as to promote knowledge about issues linked to disability in Iceland.

Centre for Disability Studies, University of Iceland

The Centre is an interdisciplinary site created for research in the area of disability studies in Iceland and which operates under the auspices of the Social Science Research Institute (Félagsvísindastofnun) at the University of Iceland.

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

The Organization of Disabled People in Iceland (Öryrkjabandalag Íslands - ÖBÍ)

This organisation consists of 32 member organisations

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

Alþingi (Icelandic Pairlament). Social Security Act No. 100/2007 (Lög umalmannatryggingar nr. 100/2007)