There are now an estimated 83 million disabled people in China,
an increase of 31 million on the 1987 figure, according to a
national survey publicized on Friday.
The dramatic increase reflects the big increase in China's aging
population.
"The proportion of the population aged 60 years and over grew to
11 percent in 2005 from 8.5 percent in 1987. Disabled people now
account for 6.34 percent of China's 1.3 billion population," said a
communique from the organizers of the second China National Sample
Survey on Disability.
In 1987, seniors accounted for less than 5 percent of the
population.
Disabled people are often defined as those for whom a physical
or mental impairment creates a substantial disadvantage when they
seek employment or access to the wider benefits of citizenship.
Of the total number of disabled, 44.16 million are aged over 60,
an increase of 23.65 million on the first survey in 1987. Seniors
account for three quarters of the increase in the numbers of the
nation's disabled, according to the Disability survey.
"The government will take measures to enhance public awareness
and understanding of disabled elderly people, help elderly disabled
people recover and regain their self-esteem, and enact specific
statutes to safeguard their rights," said Zhang Weimin, deputy
director of the National Statistics Bureau at a press conference in Beijing Friday.
According to the communique notes, the growth of the Chinese
aging population led to an explosion in the numbers of
disabled.
"According to the 1987 survey, the proportion of disabled people
in the national population was 4.9 percent. If this percentage
figure had remained unchanged, the disabled population in 2006
would have been limited to 64 million, a lot less than the 83
million figure, but nevertheless an increase of 12 million over 52
million in 1987," the notes said.
"Due to cerebrovascular diseases, arthropathy, dementia and
other senile diseases, disability is higher among elderly people,"
the communique said.
Deng Pufang, chairman of China Disabled Persons, said industrial
injuries, traffic accidents, sports injuries and environmental
pollution were also to blame for the dramatic increase in the
number of physically disabled people.
Deng, also Chairman of the Leading Group of the Second China
National Sample Survey on Disability, pointed out there is a
correlation between the disabled population and socio-economic
development, although the specific ratio has yet be be found.
Statistics on disability are difficult to compare
internationally because different countries have different
definitions.
In Britain, the proportion of "disabled" people is said to have
risen from 7.1 percent in 1987 to 15 percent in 1994 and to 18
percent in 2002. The figure in the United States rose from 12
percent in 1991 to 18 percent in 2001.
But in some African countries, "disabled" people only make up 1
percent of the national population, Deng said.
As economies develop and industrialize, people are more likely
to run the risk of getting injured in factories, on construction
sites or doing mechanical work, he explained.
In an agricultural society, people are engaged in safer, simpler
farming work, he said.
The growth of the aging population and the nation's headlong
industrialization are not the whole story behind the explosion in
the disabled figures. Disability classifications have been revised
and expanded, with disability criteria brought into line with
international standards and other social and environmental factors
taken into account, the communique said.
The survey was conducted in all 31 provinces, autonomous regions
and municipalities on the Chinese mainland by 16 government
organizations including the National Statistics Bureau, the
Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Health and the China
Disabled Persons' Federation from April 1 to May 31, 2006.
The 738 survey teams consisted of more than 20,000 enumerators,
6,000 doctors, 730 statisticians and 50,000 survey assistants. They
investigated 2,526,145 persons in 771,797 households.
(Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2006)
