In the Czech Republic, there are over a million people with disabilities, reported the Czech Statistical Office.

According to a recently published study by the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), last year there were 1,313 thousand people over the age of 15 living with a disability in Czech households, which represents 15% of the country's population.

Looking at a longer time comparison, the figure indicates a clear trend, which is an increase in the number of inhabitants with such a handicap. According to statisticians, in 2018 there were 1,152 thousand people with a disability in the Czech Republic, or 13% of this population. Thus, a two percent difference is noticeable over 6 years.

Luxusní loft na prodej 3+kk, Praha Modřany, Praha 4

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With age, the number of people with disabilities also increases

The main reason for this can be found in the increase in people of old age, as a person's health condition worsens with advancing age. The idea that the majority of these people are born with a disability is completely false. According to the data, the cause of disability is only congenital in 7% of cases.

"While among younger people up to 40 years old, the representation of people with disabilities was 3.5%, among seniors over 80 years old, almost 60% of them struggled with a disability,"

Helena Chodounská, head of the department of education, health, culture, and social security statistics at the Czech Statistical Office, explained the statistical influence of age on the demographic distribution in the population.

"Assistance from another person, whether informal or from professional providers, was regularly used by 827 thousand people with health disabilities, that is, 63% of them. For 98 thousand people, the provided help was not sufficient or they had not had any yet, even though they needed it,"

Markéta Pištorová from the Department of Statistical Development of the CZSO explained.

Tens of thousands of caregivers will be needed in the Czech Republic, in Europe more than a million

If the trend of increasing numbers of people with disabilities continues, it is clear that the demand for caregiving individuals will also grow. Although relatives are involved in the care of their disadvantaged family members in 94% of cases, there are already concerns about the sufficiency of people in social services. 

"For example, the European Commission says that 1.6 million workers will be needed in social services by 2050 and also claims that it is one of the fastest growing sectors, where two million jobs have been created in the last eleven years. Just in the social sector, five percent of all European workers are employed, so we see that the need is already manifesting and the number of employees is also increasing. Aging of the population is becoming apparent, but for example also the constantly increasing number of people living with some type of dementia,"

recently stated for ČRo Jiří Horecký, president of the Association of Social Services Providers. According to the data of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, by 2035 alone, the Czech Republic will need an additional 45 thousand caregivers.

Many disabled people work and don't take pensions

Statisticians have also focused on the employment opportunities for people with disabilities. In the age cohort of 20 to 64 years, 23% of people with disabilities stated that they work and do not receive any pension, 26% work and at the same time receive disability pension and 36% only receive a disability pension.

Disability pensions are divided into three degrees, with the first two degrees assuming that its beneficiary is capable of work, but if he works full-time, the disability pension may be removed from such person, as it does not actually restrict him in economic life.

The amount of disability pension is always calculated individually, but hypothetically, for a person who had an average income of 30,000 gross crowns from his previous career, they could receive a disability pension to the highest extent of approximately 18,000 crowns.

Sources: author's text, TZ, ČSÚ, ČRo, Moneta