About 2% of the population in India is considered disabled per 2002 survey (about 18.49 million). About 69 persons per 100,000 are born disabled or become disabled for some reason in India in a year. The rate is higher among males than females. About 10.63% of the disabled persons suffered from more than one type of disabilities. About 13% of the physically disabled are considered severely disabled.
For every 100,000 people in India, there are 1,775 who are either mentally or physically disabled. The prevalence of disability among rural residents is 1.85% and among urban, 1.5%. The rate for males is 2.12% and for females 1.67%. 47% of the disabled are not married and 55% of them are illiterate. Out of 1,000 persons, only 15 to 35 complete any vocational course. About 26% of
disabled persons are employed. The proportion of employed among the mentally retarded, however, is only 6% which is the lowest among all disabled. About 11% disabled 5-18 years old are enrolled in special schools in urban areas but only 1% in rural areas.
Mental retardation is found to be highest in U.P., Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu and lowest in Pondicherry, Goa, Jharkhand, Mehalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Chandigarh. Mental illness is found to be at highest level in U.P., Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu and lowest in Goa, Tripura, Sikkim, and Chandigarh. |
