Facts About Persons with Disabilities
U.S. and Worldwide Statistics Relating to People Living with Disabilities
Overview About 10 percent of the world’s population, or 650 million people, live with a disability. They are the world’s largest minority. This figure is increasing through population growth, medical advances, and the aging process, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In countries with life expectancies over 70 years, individuals spend on average about eight years, or 11.5 percent of their life span, living with disabilities. Eighty percent of persons with disabilities live in developing countries, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP). Disability rates are significantly higher among groups with lower educational attainment in the countries of the…
