In the same week in which we celebrate the National Day of the Rights of the Disabled People (September 21), the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in partnership with the National Directorate for Social Integration of the Disabled (CORDE), receive, in Rio de Janeiro, representatives of international institutes of statistics and of organizations from over 40 countries. These institutions are going to participate in two international events - the 2nd Regional Seminar and  the 5th Annual Meeting of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics – with the objective of discussing the production of statistics about disabled people.

The president of IBGE, Eduardo Pereira Nunes, will take part in the opening ceremony of the 2nd Seminar of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (September 19 and 20) at Othon Palace Hotel, in Copacabana on Monday, September 19, at 9:30 am. Together with him will be the general chairwoman of CORDE, Izabel Maior, the director of the National Center of Health Statistics, Jennifer Madans, and the representative of IBGE in the Washington Group, Alicia Bercovitch. On September 21 to 23, IBGE and CORDE will receive, at the same place, the 5th Annual Meeting of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics. The production and harmonization of statistics about disabled people are the main issues to be discussed in these meetings.

Both of these annual events are held, preferably, in different parts of the world. The first ones were in Washington (EUA, 2001), the second in Ottawa (Canada, 2002), the third in Brussels (Belgium, 2003), the fourth in Bangkok (Thailand, 2004), and the fifth in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil, 2005). Besides the annual meeting in 2005, the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG) had its first regional meeting in June 2005 in Nairobi (Kenya).

In Brazil, disabled people make up 14.5% of the population

The results of Census 2000 show that, approximately 24.6 million people, or 14.5% of the total population, has some kind of disability or deficiency. They have at least some kind of difficulty, either visual, aural or locomotive or some kind of physical or mental disability.

Among 16.6 million Brazilian people with some degree of visual deficiency, almost 150 thousand claimed to be blind, whereas among the other 5.7 million with some kind of hearing problem, fewer than 170 thousand claimed to be deaf.

It is important to highlight that the percentage of disabled people in relation to all the population increases with age, changing from 4.3% among children up to 14 years old, to 54% among people over 65 years old. As the population grows older, the percentage of disabled people increases and gives way to a new group of demands to fit the specific needs of this group.

The data of Census 2000 also show that men are the majority when mental, physical (especially the lack of a limb or of part of it) and aural deficiencies are considered. The result is compatible with the activities performed by men, since these cause them to be more susceptible to accidents of different sorts. The predominance of women with locomotion or visual difficulties (incapacity to walk or climb up stairs) is predictable, considering the percentage by sex of the elderly population, with the predominance of women in the group over 60 years old.

The methodological concept of disability used in the Census 2000 includes several degrees of difficulty to see, hear and move, and is compatible with the International Classification of Functionality Incapacity and Health (CIF), released in 2001 by the International Health Organization (OMS).

About 9 million disabled people are working

With reference to the insertion of the disabled in the job market there is a smaller number of employed persons in this group in relation to that of non-disabled people. Of the 65.6 million people at 10 years of age or over which form the employed population of the country, 9 million have one of the disabilities included in the survey.

The schooling rate of children between 7 and 14 years of age is 88.6%, that is, six percentage points below the schooling rate of other children in the same age group, which is 94.5%.

In relation to education, there are striking differences: 32.9% of the population without any kind of instruction or with less than three years of schooling has some kind of disability. The percentage of disabled people falls when the instruction level increases, and there is even the participation of 10% of disabled people among those with more than 11 years of schooling.

The proportion of employed people at 10 years of age or over is 51.8% for disabled men and 63% for men who declared not to have any kind of disability, that is, a difference of over 10%. A similar result occurs among women: the proportion of employed women ranges from 27% to 37%. The kind of disability that makes it more difficult for people to be inserted in the job market is mental deficiency: only 19.3% of the persons who claimed to suffer from permanent mental deficiency are employed. The other types of disability permit easier insertion in the job market: motor or physical disability (24.1%), hearing difficulties (34.0%) sight problems (40.8%). Considering those who do not have any disabilities, the percentage of employed persons increases to 49.9%.

Further information about the previous events of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics can be found in the web site http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/citygroup.htm

The meeting will be held at Othon Palace Hotel - Avenida Atlântica, nº 3.264 - Copacabana - RJ