According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), Germany had just over 7.8 million people classified as severely disabled by the end of 2025. This figure means that 9.4 percent of the German population is severely disabled. Demographically, men constituted 49.9 percent of this group, while women made up 50.1 percent.
The previous survey, conducted at the end of 2023, reported nearly 7.9 million severely disabled individuals, which is roughly 27,000 more than the 2025 figure. However, comparing the 2025 findings to 2023 is complicated because of extensive administrative data cleaning conducted in the federal states of Hesse and Saxony. Due to this data scrubbing in these two states, the combined number of severely disabled persons recorded at the end of 2025 was about 195,000 lower than in 2023, suggesting that an overestimation had previously occurred.
An individual is classified as severely disabled if the local welfare office has granted them a disability grade of at least 50 and provided them with a valid identification card. Disabilities rarely develop in infancy or childhood; instead, they most often arise in advanced age. For instance, by the end of 2025, about a third (34 percent or 2.7 million) of severely disabled people were aged 75 or older. Slightly less than half (45 percent or 3.5 million) fell into the 55 to 74 age group, and three percent (231,000) were children and adolescents under 18.
The primary cause of disability was illness, accounting for 91 percent of severe disabilities. Congenital issues or disabilities manifesting in the first year of life comprised three percent. Accident or occupational diseases attributed to only about one percent, with the remaining four percent stemming from other causes.
Physical disabilities affected 57 percent of the severely disabled population. Of these, 27 percent were affected by internal organs or organ systems. Ten percent reported restricted function in arms and/or legs, while another nine percent cited issues with the spine and trunk. Sight impairment or reduced vision was present in four percent of cases, and hearing loss, balance disorders, or speech problems affected four percent as well. Loss of one or both breasts was cited as the reason for severe disability in two percent of cases.
Mental or psychological disabilities comprised 16 percent of the total. Cerebral disorders presented in nine percent of cases, while for 19 percent, the specific nature of the disability was not recorded.
Regarding severity, just over one-fifth of people with severe disabilities (21 percent) had been assigned the highest disability grade of 100 by the welfare office. Furthermore, more than one-third (36 percent) of severely disabled individuals were assigned a disability grade of 50 or higher.
