The Number of People with Disabilities Worldwide

From:

http://www.realising-potential.org/stakeholder-factbox/disabled-people-worldwide/

Disabled people worldwide

Disability affects 15-20% of every country's population: There are at least 650 million people with disabilities worldwide. [i] Conflict and poverty continue to cause high rates of disability in the less developed world. The incidence of disability is increasing in the industrialised world as populations age.

Every country calculates the number of disabled people in their country differently. Cultural differences, different disability definitions and different methods of data collection mean that in many cases estimates are significantly lower than ILO estimates. Many more people will benefit from workplace adjustments and adaptations to services than official figures suggest. Companies which take a disability confident approach will improve access for all their stakeholders.

Disability in Europe

The total number of the population with a long-standing health problem or a disability (LSHPD) in 25 European countries is estimated to account for more than 45 million citizens. [ii]
These European Union statistics only refer to the population that is 16 to 64 years old. [iii]
This means that one in six persons (15.7%) of the working age population (aged 16 to 64) has either a long-standing health problem or a disability. [iv]
One European in four declares having a member of their family affected by a disability. [v]
At 32.2% Finland has the highest percentage prevalence of long standing disability in the European Union.[vi]
The Netherlands has the third highest prevalence of disability in the European Union with 25.4% of their population. [vii]
6.6% of the Italian population are disabled, one of the lowest figures in the European Union. [viii]
5.8% of the Romanian population have a long term disability. [ix]
There are over 10 million disabled people in Russia. Approximately 700,000 of these are children and young adults up to the age of 18. [x]
The United Kingdom has the second highest prevalence of disability with 27.2% of the population having a long-standing health problem or disability. [xi]

Disability in Africa

It is estimated that in 2005 there were 1.6 million disabled people in Cameroon [xii]
The disabled population of Ethiopia accounts for 7.6% of the overall population. [xiii]
The 1989 Kenya Population Census estimated that 0.7% of the 21.4 million population were disabled. This is regarded as an underestimation. [xiv]
In Malawi, the 1983 Disability Survey revealed 190,000 people as disabled, which was 2.9% of the population. According to World Health Organisation estimates the figure in 2005 was closer to 1 million people with disability. [xv]
10% of the population are estimated to be disabled in Mali. [xvi]
In 2005 there were approximately 190,000 disabled people, or 9.9% of the population, in Mozambique.[xvii]
269,680 people of a total 7.8 million are estimated to be disabled in Rwanda. This amounts to 3.5% of the population. [xviii]
It is estimated that Tanzania has a disabled population of more than 3 million. [xix]
In Uganda, the disabled population in 1991 was 190,345. [xx]
A total number of about 2%, or 218,421, of the Zimbabwean population were estimated to be disabled in 1997. [xxi]

Disability in Asia

The disabled population of Afghanistan varies between 4 and 10% of the total. [xxii]
2.4% of the Cambodian population are said to be disabled. [xxiii]
In India is estimated that 60 million people are disabled. [xxiv]
Indonesia is said to have a disabled population of 1% of the total. [xxv]
Of the 22 milion disabled people in Indonesia, less than 1% are employed [xxvi]
Indonesian law states that companies must allocate at least 1% of their workforce to disabled people. Failure to do so results in significant monetary fines. [xxvii]
In Lao 8% of the population are estimated to be disabled. [xxviii]
Approximately 7% of the total Pakistani population are disabled. [xxix]
In the Philippines the disabled population figure accounts for an estimated 1.23% of the population. [xxx]
In Nepal 7-10% of the population are disabled. [xxxi]

Disability in Australasia

Almost four million Australians or 20% of the population reported a disability in 2003. [xxxii]
In 1997 statistics showed that about 20% of the New Zealand population experiences a long-term condition or health problem. [xxxiii]
44% of disabled adults in NewZealand are in employment in comparison to 74% of people without disabilities [xxxiv]

Disability in North America

In 2002 roughly 51.2 million or 18% of Americans stated they had some form of disability; for 32.5 million of them the disability was severe. [xxxv]
Canadian population estimates from 2001 stated that 3.9 million people were disabled. This represents approximately one in eight Canadians as having a disability.[xxxvi]

Disability in South America

In 1994 it was estimated that the disabled population in Guatemala was 59,841, or 0.72% of the total population. [xxxvii]

Worldwide Aging Populations

16.7% of the American population were aged 60 and over in 2005. This is projected to be 26.4% by 2050.[xxxviii]
In 2005, the percentage of Chinese people aged 60 and over was 10.9%. By 2050, this figure is expected to rise to 31.0% [xxxix]
21.1% of the French population were aged 60 and over in 2005. This is thought to rise to 33.0% by 2050.[xl]
German people aged 60 and over accounted for 25.1% of the population in 2005. This is expected to rise to 35% by 2050. [xli]
Indian people aged 60 and over accounted for 7.9% of the population in 2005. This is expected to rise to 20.75 by 2050. [xlii]
In 2005, the percentage of Japanese people aged 60 and over was 26.3%. By 2050, this figure is expected to rise to 41.7%. [xliii]
Russian people aged 60 and over accounted for 17.1% of the population in 2005. This is expected to rise to 31.1% by 2005. [xliv]
In the UK, 21.2% of the population were aged 60 and over in 2005. This figure is predicted to be 29.4% in 2050. [xlv]

Sources

[i] UN Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2022
[ii] Eurostat research results (2003), cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis 2005
[iii] Eurostat research results (2003), cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis2005
[iv] Eurostat research results (2003), cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis2005
[v] The European Research Group's, Eurobarometer 54.2/2001, Brussels May 2001
[vi] Eurostat research results (2003), cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis2005
[vii] Eurostat research results (2003), cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis2005
[viii] Eurostat research results (2003), cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis2005
[ix] Eurostat research results (2003), cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis2005
[x] 'Inclusive Education in Russia: a status report', Denise Roza, Disability World, issue 26 December 2004/February 2005
[xi] Eurostat research results (2003), cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis2005
[xii] World Health Organisation estimate
[xiii] Ethiopian Disability Survey estimate
[xiv] Kenya Population Census 1989
[xv] Malawi Disability Survey 1983 and World Health Organisation estimate
[xvi] Malian federation of Disabled People (FEMAPH) estimation
[xvii] Application of World Health Organisation estimate
[xviii] World Health organisation estimate
[xix] Estimate figure from World Health Organisation and International Labour Organisation 2005
[xx] Ugandan National Housing and Population Census 1991
[xxi] Zimbabwean Inter-Censal Demographic Survey (ICDS) 1997
[xxii] In the of reliable data the 4% is from local surveys with the higher 10% being the World Health Organisation figure
[xxiii] National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning
[xxiv] Quoted from 'This minority is invisible' by Javed Abidi, June 2002.
[xxv] Statistic Central Board
[xxvi] Data from the Indonesian Disabled People's Association (PPCI), September 2006
[xvii] Data from the Indonesian Disabled People's Association (PPCI), September 2006
[xxviii] World Health Organisation
[xxix] Statistics Division, Blue Area, Islamabad. Cited on the Biwako Millenium Framework website
[xxx] National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP)
[xxxi] 'The Disability Situation in Nepal', Meen Raj Panthi, Disability World issue 24, June/August 2004
[xxxii] Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022
[xxxiii] Shelton, E.J. & Tucker, H. (2005) Tourism and Disability: Issues Beyond Access. Tourism Review International, Vol. 8 (3), pp. 211-219, cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis2005
[xxxiv] Statistics NZ data, quoted by EEO Trust
[xxxv] US Census Bureau figures 2002 as part of US Census Press Release, 12/05/06.
[xxxvi] Canadian Government population estimates released in 2001 quoted in 'Advancing the Inclusion of people with Disabilities', 2022.
[xxxvii] National Population Census 1994 ,
[xxxviii] United Nations population projection figures, Wall Street Journal, June 2006
[xxxix] United Nations population projection figures, Wall Street Journal, June 2006
[xl] United Nations population projection figures, Wall Street Journal, June 2006
[xli] United Nations population projection figures, Wall Street Journal, June 2006
[xlii] United Nations population projection figures, Wall Street Journal, June 2006
[xliii] United Nations population projection figures, Wall Street Journal, June 2006
[xliv] United Nations population projection figures, Wall Street Journal, June 2006
[xlv] United Nations population projection figures, Wall Street Journal, June 2006