World Facts and Statistics on Disabilities and Disability Issues

Disability affects hundreds of millions of families in developing countries. Currently around 10 per cent of the total world’s population, or roughly 650 million people, live with a disability. In most of the OECD countries, females have higher rates of disability than males.

Having a disability places you in the world’s largest minority group. As the population ages this figure is expected to increase. Eighty per cent of persons with disabilities live in developing countries, according to the UN Development Program (UNDP). The World Bank estimates that 20 per cent of the world’s poorest people have some kind of disability, and tend to be regarded in their own communities as the most disadvantaged. Statistics show a steady increase in these numbers. The reasons include:

a) Emergence of new diseases and other causes of impairment, such as HIV/AIDS, stress and alcohol and drug abuse;

b) Increasing life span and numbers of elderly persons, many of whom have impairments;

c) Projected increases in the number of disabled children over the next 30 years, particularly in the developing countries, due to malnutrition, diseases, child labor and other causes;

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