Introduction
How many disabled people in Norway are in work? The honest answer in 2026 is that the most recent official survey figure is from 2020. This article sets out what the official statistics can and cannot tell you today, who publishes them, and how they are measured, so that employers, advocates and job seekers can cite them correctly.
Two ways of counting: surveys and benefit registers
Norwegian disability statistics come from two very different kinds of source:
- Survey self-report (SSB). Statistics Norway's Labour Force Survey (Arbeidskraftundersøkelsen, AKU) asked respondents in the second quarter of each year whether, in their own view, they had a disability: a physical or mental health problem of a lasting nature (interviewers specified at least six months) that could limit daily life. With this definition, roughly 17 percent of people aged 15–66 were classified as having a disability. SSB itself cautioned that this level could be somewhat high, partly because many respondents changed their answer from one year to the next, but considered the trend usable.
- Benefit registers (NAV). NAV counts people who actually receive a benefit, such as disability benefit (uføretrygd) or work assessment allowance (arbeidsavklaringspenger, AAP). These figures are exact and published monthly, but they measure benefit receipt, not disability. Many disabled people work and receive no benefit, and these registers say nothing about them.
The two kinds of figures should never be added together or compared as if they measured the same thing.
The gap in SSB's employment data
SSB ran a disability supplement to the Labour Force Survey from 2002. In 2021 it had to redesign the survey because of new EU rules, and used a new health question as the entry filter. That 2021 round captured only a subgroup of disabled people; after negative feedback from users of the statistics, SSB decided in 2022 to remove the supplement temporarily. In its 2024 assessment, SSB noted that the last comparable figures are for 2020.
SSB considered reintroducing the supplement in odd-numbered years from 2025, but concluded that it would wait for a common definition tested in its 2025 living-conditions survey. In June 2026 SSB confirmed that the topic will return to the Labour Force Survey from 2027, with data collection from January 2027, publication in early 2028, and new figures every other year. Because the definition changes, there will be a break in the statistical series from 2027.
In practice: no SSB disability employment rate exists for any year after 2021. Use the 2020 figures below, clearly labelled as 2020.
Employment rate: latest survey figures (2020)
| Group (ages 15–66), Q2 2020 | Employment rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| People with disabilities | 40.6% | SSB, AKU 2020 |
| Whole population | 73.4% | SSB, AKU 2020 |
Note that SSB compared disabled people with the whole population, not with non-disabled people only. In 2020, SSB counted 258,000 employed people with disabilities, and 43.6% of them worked part-time.
Bufdir (the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs), drawing on the same 2020 survey, reports:
| Indicator (2020) | People with disabilities | Whole population |
|---|---|---|
| Employed, ages 25–39 | 48% | 82% |
| Employed, ages 60–66 | 31% | 59% |
| Employed part-time (share of employed) | 44% | 24% |
Bufdir also reports that employment among disabled women (41%) and men (40%) was almost the same in 2020, and that employment rose with education: 26% of disabled people with only compulsory schooling were employed, compared with 43% of those with upper secondary education and 60–61% of those with higher education.
For the redesigned 2021 round, Bufdir gives 38% employed among people with disabilities and 75% in the population as a whole, but stresses that the 2021 definition is not comparable with earlier years.
Disability benefit (uføretrygd): NAV, 2026
| Indicator | Figure | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Recipients of uføretrygd | 378,900 | August 2026 |
| Share of population aged 18–67 | 10.6% | August 2026 |
| New recipients, first half of 2026 | about 15,700 (9,100 women, 6,600 men) | January–June 2026 |
Source: NAV, uføretrygd monthly and quarterly statistics.
NAV's monthly series shows how stable the share has been. In August of each year it was:
| August | 2018 | 2020 | 2022 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share of population 18–67 on uføretrygd | 9.8% | 10.4% | 10.4% | 10.5% | 10.6% |
Source: NAV monthly time series, 2018–2026.
Among young recipients (ages 18–29), NAV counted 22,200 people at the end of 2025, or 2.7 percent of the age group. Mental and behavioural disorders were the most common diagnosis group in this age band (62.9%), with developmental disorders such as autism accounting for 30 percent.
Work assessment allowance (AAP): NAV, 2026
| Indicator | Figure | Date |
|---|---|---|
| AAP recipients | 169,300 | end of Q3 2026 |
| Share of population aged 18–66 | 4.7% | September 2026 |
| Recipients with a mental-health diagnosis | about 75,200 | end of Q3 2026 |
Source: NAV, "Svak vekst i antall AAP-mottakere", October 2026.
NAV also tracks what happens after AAP ends. In its latest figures, 21 percent of people who left AAP were in work six months later with no other connection to NAV, up 3 percentage points on the year before, while 49 percent moved on to uføretrygd.
How to use these numbers
- Always give the year and the source. "41% of disabled people are employed" is incomplete; "40.6% of people aged 15–66 with a self-reported disability were employed in Q2 2020 (SSB)" is correct.
- Do not mix survey and register figures. SSB's survey measures self-reported disability; NAV's registers measure benefit receipt.
- Expect a break in 2028. When SSB publishes its 2027 figures, they will use a new definition and will not be directly comparable with 2020.
Sources
- SSB: Personer med nedsatt funksjonsevne, arbeidskraftundersøkelsen (Q2 2020 release)
- SSB: Arbeidsmarkedsstatistikk om personer med nedsatt funksjonsevne (Notater 2024/41)
- SSB: Arbeidsmarknadsstatistikk om personar med funksjonsnedsetjing blir teken opp att (June 2026)
- Bufdir: Deltakelse i arbeidslivet (statistics on disability and employment)
- NAV: Uføretrygd monthly and quarterly statistics; diagnoses among young uføretrygd recipients (2026)
- NAV: Svak vekst i antall AAP-mottakere (October 2026)