Nothing about us without us.

Nothing about us without us.

Data on sign language rights in Europe

Status of the national sign language as a full language

29 out of 31 European countries have achieved recognition of their national sign language through a legal instrument adopted by their legislature.

Map of Europe with France highlighted in dark red, while the rest of the countries are shown in light green.
December 2025

Equality and non-discrimination

Across the 31 European countries examined, 17 include provisions recognising the refusal of national sign languages as a discrimination on the grounds of language.

Map of Europe with certain countries highlighted in dark red, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Estonia.
December 2025

Promotion of the identity of deaf people

4 European countries out of 31 have expressly recognised that the NSL and/or the deaf culture and/or the cultural and linguistic identity of the deaf community is preserved as part of the national cultural heritage.

Map of Europe showing some countries in dark red and others in light green; dark red covers most of Western, Central, and Northern Europe.
December 2025

The right to be educated in the national sign language

In 24 of the 31 European countries, deaf learners have the right to be educated in their national sign language

A map of Europe showing Germany, Austria, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Italy highlighted in dark red.
December 2025

National sign language as a school subject

In 24 of the 31 European countries, national sign language is offered as a subject for deaf learners, often within special education settings, and is a right protected by a legal instrument.

Map of Europe with Germany, Austria, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, and Estonia highlighted in dark red; other countries are light green or grey.
December 2025

Professional national sign language interpreters

In 29 of the 31 European countries, the provision of professional sign language interpretation is ensured through legal and/or regulatory frameworks.

Map of Europe with Liechtenstein and Cyprus highlighted in red, while other countries are shown in light green.
December 2025

Access to information, including in situations of emergencies

In 30 of the 31 European countries, national laws and/or regulations contain provisions safeguarding accessibility in national sign languages of information and services provided by public authorities

Map of Europe with Austria highlighted in dark red, showing its central location within the continent.
December 2025

Involvement of deaf people in decision-making processes

Only 14 of the 31 European countries have a dedicated national sign language council or board, to monitor the implementation of sign language rights at the national level.

A map of Europe with several countries highlighted in burgundy, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, and others, while the rest are shown in green.
December 2025

The status of sign language rights in Europe the European

The evaluation of the national legal frameworks on sign language rights across 31 European countries results in the following total scores, reflecting the extent to which each national framework fulfils the eight criteria for comprehensive and effective sign language rights.

Map of Europe with countries shaded in green, light red, or dark red, highlighting Austria, Italy, and Switzerland in the darkest red.
December 2025
Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint this page