Sri Lanka's Handicapped Population

Q. How many people with disabilities are there in Sri Lanka?

Regular statistical collections by the government and other national bodies produce conflicting data and so there is no reliable official figure (on disability and many other issues). The following list of reported data therefore allows a sketch of disability to be developed rather than a detailed picture:

UNESCAP 2003 
7% of the Sri Lanka population has a disability

Government of Sri Lanka Census 2001

•  1.6% of the total Sri Lanka population has a disability (274,711 people)
•  0-4 yr olds with disability: 4,851
•  5-9 yr olds with disability: 11,681
•  10-14 yr olds with disability: 14,246
•  15-19 yr olds with disability: 15,168
•  20-24 yr olds with disability: 18,244
•  Galle (all ages) disabled population 17,873 (rate 180.4 per 10,000)
•  31.7% of all disabled people (87,105) report having had no schooling
•  3.3% of all disabled people over 10 yrs have received vocational training
•  14.4% of all disabled people are in employment
•  4.1% of all mentally disabled people are in employment
•  73.3% of all disabled people are supported by their families
•  6.2% of all disabled people are supported by institutions or organisations
•  0.4% of all disabled people resort to begging for their livelihood

UNICEF 
Reported child disability prevalence rates that fall significantly below 10 percent may indicate that severe and moderate disabilities are under-recognized or under-reported, which means that children with disabilities are missing in these statistics.

World Bank 
People with Disabilities make up 5% of the world's population; and constitute 20% of the world's poor