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Some 7.7 million people over the age of 15, or 14.1% of the French population, have a disability, and 9.3 million declare themselves to be “caregivers” of an elderly or disabled relative, according to two studies published Thursday by the Drees, the statistical service of the social ministries.
These figures are not taken from administrative data, nor linked to the benefits paid to the people concerned, but from a vast survey, “Daily life and health” carried out in 2021 and 2022 among 334,000 people.
7.7 million people with disabilities
Disability being a “complex concept”, two approaches were combined to count the people concerned, explain the authors. On the one hand, respondents were asked if they felt “strongly limited” in “activities that people usually do”. On the other, they were invited to report a possible “severe limitation for a physical, sensory or cognitive function”.
In the end, 7.7 million people over 15 in France are in a position to have answered “yes” to one or other of the two questions, i.e. 14.1% of those over 15 – including 4.7% who combine the two criteria.
Among children aged 5 to 14, 4.8% fall into one or the other group, but the proportion rises to 25.5% for those over 60.
9.3 million caregivers in France
In addition, France has 9.3 million caregivers, including 500,000 minors, and 55% of women, indicates the DREES on the basis of the same survey. These are people declaring “provide regular assistance to a loved one with a disability or loss of autonomy”, whether or not they live with that loved one.
Of this total, 5.7 million provide “daily life assistance” to their loved one, 6.4 million provide “moral support”, and 1.3 million provide financial assistance, a third of the total combining two or three of these forms of help.
“The percentage of people declaring themselves as informal caregivers increases with age until around 60, then tends to decrease, with the exception of a rebound between 80 and 85, which can be explained by entering the dependence of the spouses of the elderly”explains the Drees.