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Prevalence of disability in Canada
In 2001, 3.6 million Canadians living in households reported having activity
limitations; this represents a disability rate of 12.4%.
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Population with and without
disabilities, and disability rate, by province, Canada and provinces,
2001 |
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Population with and without disabilities,
and disability rate, by age groups, Canada, 2001 |
The disability rate increases with
age
In general, the disability rate
is higher for women, except in the case of children under 15
The disability rate increases with age
Survey results confirm that the disability rate gradually increases with
age. From 3.3% among children aged 0 to 14, it rises to nearly 10% among
adults aged 15 to 64 and climbs to more than 40% among persons aged 65
and over. In fact, more than half (53.3%) of persons 75 and over report
having a disability. Within the population aged 15 to 64, this gradual
increase is reflected in a rate of about 4% among young adults 15 to 24
years of age, compared to 7.1% among persons aged 25 to 44 and 16.7% among
those aged 45 to 64.
In general, the disability rate is
higher for women, except in the case of children under 15
The disability rate increases with age for both men and women. Nevertheless,
women (13.3%) are generally more likely to report disability than men
(11.5%). However, this relationship is reversed among children aged 0
to 14. Boys in this age group are more likely to have activity limitations,
with a rate of 4.0% compared to 2.5% for girls. This higher prevalence
among boys disappears when they reach their twenties; the disability rate
is substantially the same for young men and women aged 15 to 24 years
of age. Starting at age 25, the prevalence of disability is slightly higher
for women than for men.
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Disability rate by age and sex, Canada, 2001 |
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