Dynamic disabilities, 2022

Release date: December 3, 2025
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Infographic: Dynamic disabilities, 2022
Description: Dynamic disabilities, 2022

Disability is often seen as a constant, unchanging condition, but many individuals experience it differently. Some people have dynamic disabilities, with limitations that fluctuate, worsen, improve or occur in intermittent episodes over time.

In 2022, 35.2% of persons with disabilities aged 15 years and over in Canada had continuous limitations, while 64.2% had dynamic disabilities, meaning they experienced progressive, recurrent or fluctuating limitations.Note 1

  • Progressive – 19.5%
  • Recurrent – 29.0%
  • Fluctuating – 15.7%

Among persons with disabilities, dynamic disabilities were more common…
…among women+ than men+Note 2

  • Women+ – 66.5%
  • Men+ – 61.3%

… and among persons aged 25 to 64 years

  • 15 to 24 years – 61.2%
  • 25 to 44 years – 66.5%
  • 45 to 64 years – 65.1%
  • 65 years and over – 62.5%

72.7% of people with very severe disabilities and 70.7% of people with more than three types of disabilities had dynamic disabilities

Prevalence of dynamic disabilities by…

  • Disability severity
    • Mild – 60.8%
    • Moderate – 61.2%
    • Severe – 64.8%
    • Very severe – 72.7%
  • Number of disability types
    • One – 60.6%
    • Two or three – 61.1%
    • More than three – 70.7%

Among persons with dynamic disabilities, periods without limitations varied in length
Periods without limitations

  • 50.5% - One month or more
  • 5.2% - One to three weeks
  • 9.8% - Days
  • 8.7% - Hours
  • 25.5% - No periods without limitations

The degree to which people were limited in their activities was more likely to vary among persons with dynamic disabilities than among persons with continuous limitations

Table 1
Table summary
The information is grouped by Variation in the degree of limitation (appearing as row headers), Persons with dynamic disabilities and Persons with continuous limitations, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Variation in the degree of limitation Persons with dynamic disabilities Persons with continuous limitations
percent
No variation 24.9 40.7
Some variation 51.8 42.4
A great deal of variation 17.0 9.9

Note: The Canadian Survey on Disability covers persons aged 15 years and over in Canada who experience limitations in their daily activities because of a long-term condition or health-related problem.

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022.

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Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2025

Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 11-627-M

Frequency: Occasional

Ottawa

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