10.5% of Norwegians between the ages of 18 and 67 were on disability benefits in 2019

Disability - wheelchairPhoto: Josh Appel / Unsplash

In the last year, the number of young people with disabilities in Norway increased by 2,000.

The figures were reported on July 2 by Statistics Norway (SSB), and they also show that 10.5% of the Norwegian population between the ages of 18 and 67 were covered by disability benefits in 2019.

According to the newspaper Aftenbladet, the number of people on disability benefits increased by 13,000 people in 2019 to a total of 352,200 people.

That means every tenth person in Norway is covered by disability benefits.

Furthermore, in the last seven years, the number of young disabled people in Norway has doubled, from 10,000 to 20,000.

Surprising results

Norwegian MP Nils Kristen Sandtrøen of the Labor Party (AP) stated that the data goes against the political goals that the Norwegian parliament (Storting) adopted, according to the newspaper Klassekampen.

In 2016, the Norwegian government launched a support scheme for young unemployed people under the age of 30, and in 2018 they launched a new package with several measures to get people into the workforce, especially people with gaps in their CVs.

“Surprisingly, these measures didn’t affect the statistics,” Tonje Fyhn, head of the research group for work-life and inclusion at the research institute Norce, noted in July.

Fyhn pointed to, among other things, low education as an important factor behind the increase.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

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