How many persons with disabilities are there in Southeast Asian countries?
It is difficult to determine the exact number of persons with disabilities in Southeast Asia as methodologies and definitions vary in each country. For example, each country has a different definition of disability. In some countries, only people with physical and sensory disabilities are counted, while in other countries persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities are included in the total number of persons with disabilities. Also, data collection methods vary from country to country. Some countries ask a question about disability on their censuses, some conduct representative surveys and others do not collect any data on disability.
The chart below shows estimates that each government gave to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Economic and Social Council for the Asia Pacific (UN ESCAP). The WHO estimates that 15% of the world’s population has a disability and that the prevalence is even higher in post-conflict countries. The third column below shows 15% of each country’s population. The drastically different numbers from each source demonstrate the difficulty of determining the true number of persons with disabilities in each country.
| Country | Population as of July 2014 | Number of persons with disabilities based on WHO estimate of 15% of the world’s population | Prevalence of persons with disabilities to total population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government estimate as published by WHO | Government estimate as published by ESCAP | |||
| Brunei Darussalam | 415,717 | 62,358 | Not available | 1.1% (2011) |
| Cambodia | 15,205,539 | 2,280,831 | 1.0% (2008) | 1.4% (2008) |
| Indonesia | 251,160,124 | 37,674,019 | 23.3% (2007) | 1.4% (2009) |
| Lao PDR | 6,695,166 | 1,004,275 | 8.0% (2004) | 1.0% (2005) |
| Malaysia | 29,628,392 | 4,444,259 | 0.4% (2000) | 1.3% (2011) |
| Myanmar | 55,167,330 | 8,275,100 | 2.0% (2007) | 2.3% (2010) |
| Philippines | 107,668,231 | 16,150,234 | 1.2% (2000) | 1.2% (2000) |
| Singapore | 5,460,302 | 819,045 | 3.0% (2003) | 3.0% (2012) |
| Thailand | 67,448,120 | 10,117,218 | 2.9% (2007) | 2.9% (2007) |
| Timor Leste | 1,172,390 | 175,859 | Not available | 4.6% (2010) |
| Vietnam | 93,421,835 | 14,013,275 | 6.4% (2005) | 7.8% (2009) |
