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2. Statistical Data on Disability Profile

The China Disabled Person's Federation announced the following statistics on PWDs based on its achievements during the 9 th 5 year plan, which ended in 2002.

• Over the past five years, 4.3 million disabled people have been given help to recuperated and live in society, 44 percent more than the original plan.
• The number of disabled children being educated has increased from 62.5 percent in 1995 to 77 percent last year. Over 90 percent of disabled students passed exams and have studied at university.
• A 10 percent increase was achieved in the employment rate of the country's disabled population. Of the 13.27 million rural disabled who were helped back to work, 8.29 million can now feed themselves.

Artistic and sports related activities were achieved by the disabled. The country's disabled artists have won wide recognition abroad and disabled Chinese athletes have won a total of 386 gold medals at international contests.

Table 11

Type of Disability (in millions of people)

Type	Number	% of Total
Hearing Impairment	20.57	34.3
Mental Retardation	11.82	19.7
Physical Impairment	8.77	14.6
Visual Impairment	8.77	14.6
Mental Illness	2.35	3.8
Multiple Disabilities	7.82	13.0
Total	60.00	100.0

Source: China Disabled Persons' Federation

The National Sample Survey of the handicapped was approved by the State Council of China in 1987. It was the first such survey concerning PWDs in China. The survey was conducted through the participation of the Ministry of Civil Administration, the State Statistics Bureau, the Ministry of Health, the State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Finance and the Population Census Leading Group. Experts from WHO served as consultants on the implementation of the survey.

In the survey, 369,448 families and 1,579,316 people were sampled. From the larger sample group, 66,902 families with members with disabilities were selected. It was determined from the sample survey that approximately 51.64 million people were disabled (a 4.9% prevalence rate) and that on average 1 family in 5 cared for a PWD. Tables 13-16 highlight some of its findings:

Table 12

Population of PWDs by Category (National Sample Survey 1987)

Category	Male	%	Female	%	Total	%
Vision Impairment	5,937	13.5	9,986	22.3	15,923	17.9
Hearing and Speech Impairment	17,414	39.6	17,030	38.0	34,444	38.8
Mental retardation	10,482	23.8	9,540	21.3	20,022	22.6
Physical Handicaps	8,354	19.0	6,113	13.6	14,467	16.3
Mental Disorder	1,780	4.0	2,127	4.7	3,907	4.4
Total	43,967	100.0	44,796	100.0	88,763	100.0
Male / Female Ratio	49.5%		50.5%

Source: National Sample Survey 1987
Disability Statistics in the PR of China, Zhuoying Qiu

Table 13

Population of PWDs by Age (National Sample Survey 1987)

Age	Male	%	Female	%	Total	%
0-4	1,205	3.1	1,016	2.6	2,221	2.9
5-9	2,250	5.8	1,820	4.7	4,070	5.3
10-14	3,343	8.6	2,608	6.7	5,951	7.7
15-19	2,444	6.3	1,904	4.9	4,348	5.6
20-24	2,142	5.5	1,746	4.5	3,888	5.0
25-29	1,498	3.9	1,194	3.1	2,692	3.5
30-34	2,037	5.3	1,761	4.6	3,798	4.9
35-39	1,982	5.1	1,764	4.6	3,746	4.8
40-44	1,727	4.5	1,576	4.1	3,303	4.3
45-49	1,792	4.6	1,598	4.1	3,390	4.4
50-54	2,091	5.4	2,069	5.4	4,160	5.4
55-59	2,563	6.6	2,494	6.5	5,057	6.5
60-64	3,001	7.8	3,031	7.8	6,032	7.8
65-69	3,167	8.2	3,406	8.8	6,573	8.5
70-74	3,136	8.1	3,753	9.7	6,889	8.9
75-79	2,433	6.3	3,359	8.7	5,792	7.5
80+	1,883	4.9	3,552	9.2	5,435	7.0
Total	38,694	100.0	38,651	100.0	77,345	100.0

Note: Out of the initial 88,763 people sampled, 77,345 disabled persons were determined
Source: National Sample Survey 1987
Disability Statistics in the PR of China, Zhuoying Qiu

Table 14

Employment of PWDs by Vocation (National Sample Survey 1987)

Vocation Categories	Male	%	Female	%	Total	%
Professional / Technical Personnel	374	2.4	117	1.5	491	2.1
Leaders of Public Institutions	130	0.8	16	0.2	146	0.6
Public Servant	99	0.6	43	0.6	142	0.6
Business	308	2.0	131	1.7	439	1.9
Service	635	4.1	214	2.8	849	3.7
Agriculture, Forest, Fishery	12,388	79.6	6430	84.1	18,818	81.1
Production, Transportation	1,602	10.3	675	8.8	2,277	9.8
Other	36	0.2	18	0.2	54	0.2
Total	15,572	100.0	7,644	100.0	23,216	100.0
Total in Sample Survey	38,694		38,651
Unemployed Number	16,324		25,563
Unemployment Rate	42.0		66.1

Source: National Sample Survey 1987
Disability Statistics in the PR of China, Zhuoying Qiu

Table 15

Education Obtained by Employed PWDs (National Sample Survey 1987)

Education Level	Male	%	Female	%	Total	%
University	97	14.3	20	8.3	117	12.7
High School	579	85.7	222	91.7	801	87.3
Total	676	100.0	242	100.0%	918	100.0
Employed Number	15,572		7,644
Employed PWD less than High School Education	14,896	95.7%	7,402	96.8%

Source: National Sample Survey 1987
Disability Statistics in the PR of China, Zhuoying Qiu