Only 3.1 per cent of Cypriots with disabilities feel discriminated against in administrative offices and public services, Eurostat data published on Monday showed, ranking the island lowest in the EU alongside Italy.
In the EU as a whole, shares of disabled people who felt discriminated against in administrative offices and public services were higher than among those without.
Among disabled people in Cyprus, the share who reported no discrimination in administrative offices and public services was only slightly lower than the share who said they did experience discrimination.
The highest overall shares of disabled people experiencing discrimination were recorded in Estonia, 14.6 per cent, Spain, 14.5 per cent and Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden – all at 12.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, the lowest shares were recorded in Cyprus and Italy, 3.1 per cent, followed by Croatia, 4.3 per cent and Hungary, 4.5 per cent.
On an EU average, 9.4 per cent of people with disabilities aged over 16 said they felt discriminated against when in contact with administrative services, marking a significantly higher number compared to respondents without disabilities, of which only 4 per cent reported feeling discriminated against.
A similar tendency was confirmed in the educational sector and public spaces, where people with disabilities tended to face more discrimination than non-disabled people, with 4.1 per cent and 2.3 per cent in educational institutions and 5 per cent and 3 per cent in public spaces respectively.
When it came to finding housing, 8.2 per cent of Europeans with disabilities said they had experienced discrimination, compared to 5.2 per cent of people without a disability.
