People with disabilities at the beginning of 2021 accounted for 6.7% of the total population of Moldova.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), at the beginning of 2020, 174.5 thousand people with disabilities were registered in Moldova, including 10.4 thousand minors aged 0-17 years. Children with disabilities make up almost 1.9% of the total number of children in Moldova. Every seventh disabled citizen has severe forms of disability. About 52% of disabled people in Moldova are men. About 70% (122.2 thousand) of people with disabilities in Moldova receive a disability pension, 30% - social benefits (52.3 thousand people). The average size of a disability pension in 2020 was 1,516.4 lei, while the average pension in the country was 2104.5 lei. Depending on the degree of disability, its size varied from 1,062.4 lei to 1,875 lei. For 5 years, the average size of a disability pension has increased by almost 49%, while the average pension for all pensioners has increased by 65%. For the participants in the liquidation of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the military, the average size of the disability pension amounted to 3,996.2 lei and, accordingly, 1,786.7 lei. In 2020, the average size of a disability pension covered the subsistence minimum for pensioners at 72.6%, while the average pension in the country covered the subsistence minimum at 50.9%. The minimum pension for persons with disabilities of varying degrees ranges from 594 to 891 lei and covers the minimum subsistence level at 28.4-42.7%. According to the NBS, the average size of the state social benefit amounted to 678.2 lei, having increased by 67.2% over five years. At the same time, the average amount of the allowance for children with a severe form of disability was 851.9 lei, with an average form of disability from childhood - 834.9 lei. It is noted that persons with severe disabilities also use the allowance for care and support; its amount reached 912 lei in 2020, last year it was received by about 13 thousand people. Persons with disabilities that occurred during the hostilities (2.7 thousand people) received a monthly state allowance of 570.3 lei. People with disabilities are provided with partial compensation for travel expenses, they can use the services of 62 social canteens, as well as the services of specialized centers and institutions. At the same time, 14% of the total number of persons with disabilities last year were employed (13.3% of men and 14.8% of women, the employment rate of persons with disabilities was higher in cities (15.6%) compared with the villages of the country (13.1%). About 37% of working people with disabilities were employed in the agricultural sector, 14.6% - in industry and construction, 13.5% - in retail, as well as in hotels and restaurants, 10.7% - in education. As a reminder, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated annually on December 3. // 03.12.2021 - InfoMarket.
