This is from an answer on June 9th (from Margaret Hodge) to a parliamentary question by David Laws (the Liberal Democrat spokesman on Work and Pensions):

International comparisons of benefit receipt are difficult to make because of differences in benefit design, definitions of disability and demographics. However, the available evidence shows that the proportion of working age people in the UK in receipt of sickness and disability benefits is around the OECD average of 7 per cent.

Table 2: Recipients of sickness and disability benefits in 16 OECD countries

Proportion of the working age population in receipt of sickness and disability benefits (percentage)

Japan 3
New Zealand 4
Spain 4
Belgium 5
Canada 5
Austria 5
Ireland 6
Australia 6
Germany 7
France 7
UK 7
US 8
Slovak Republic 9
Netherlands 11
Denmark 11
Sweden 12

Source:
OECD Employment Outlook 2003
Figures for 1999

These figures are not the same as ones quoted in The Welfare State We're In, however those figures again suggested very large national variations in the proportion of people on incapacity benefits.