Health · Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2022
Living with a disability
About 5.7% of Ugandans aged 5 and over live with a disability: a lot of difficulty, or being unable, to see, hear, walk, remember, care for themselves or communicate (UDHS 2022). Disability rises steeply with age: 28.5% of people aged 60+ have one.
Living with a disability, 2022
5.7%
of people aged 5 and over
Women vs men
7.7% vs 5.8%
women are more affected
Aged 60+
28.5%
have a disability
Poorest vs richest fifth
10.5% vs 5.1%
women
Disability rises steeply with age: 28.5% of people aged 60+ have one.
Disability rises with age
% of people with a disability, by age, UDHS 2022
| With a disability | |
|---|---|
| 5–9 | 5.2% |
| 10–14 | 2.5% |
| 15–19 | 2.5% |
| 20–29 | 2.6% |
| 30–39 | 3.0% |
| 40–49 | 5.8% |
| 50–59 | 10.2% |
| 60+ | 28.5% |
What kind of difficulty?
% of people aged 5+ with some, or a lot of, difficulty
- A lot of difficulty or cannot
- Some difficulty
| A lot of difficulty or cannot | Some difficulty | |
|---|---|---|
| Seeing | 1.9% | 7.9% |
| Walking or climbing steps | 1.8% | 4.4% |
| Remembering or concentrating | 1.6% | 4.8% |
| Washing all over or dressing | 1.5% | 1.9% |
| Hearing | 0.9% | 3.4% |
| Communicating | 0.6% | 1.1% |
Where disability is most common
% of people with a disability, by sub-region
- Women
- Men
| Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|
| Acholi | 18.5% | 14.2% |
| Bukedi | 14.3% | 9.4% |
| Teso | 10.8% | 7.9% |
| Busoga | 9.6% | 6.0% |
| Kigezi | 8.9% | 5.9% |
| Elgon | 8.0% | 5.4% |
| Buganda | 6.8% | 5.6% |
| Lango | 6.8% | 5.2% |
| Kampala | 4.8% | 4.5% |
| Ankole | 4.4% | 4.4% |
| Toro | 4.9% | 3.5% |
| Karamoja | 5.3% | 2.9% |
| Bunyoro | 3.8% | 3.9% |
| West Nile | 4.6% | 3.0% |
Poorer households, more disability
% with a disability, by household wealth
- Women
- Men
| Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|
| Poorest fifth | 10.5% | 7.7% |
| Second fifth | 7.6% | 6.2% |
| Middle fifth | 8.2% | 5.7% |
| Fourth fifth | 7.4% | 5.9% |
| Richest fifth | 5.1% | 3.7% |
4.9% in 2011, 5.7% in 2022
% of people aged 5+ with a disability, by survey
| With a disability | |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 4.9% |
| 2016 | 6.5% |
| 2022 | 5.7% |
Disability and schooling
% with a disability, by the highest level of school reached
- Women
- Men
| Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|
| No schooling | 19.2% | 13.1% |
| Primary | 6.5% | 6.1% |
| Secondary | 2.6% | 3.6% |
| More than secondary | 4.0% | 4.4% |
Disability and marriage
% with a disability, by marital status (widowed people are mostly older)
- Women
- Men
| Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|
| Never married | 4.6% | 3.3% |
| Married | 4.7% | 6.2% |
| Widowed | 27.0% | 31.1% |
| Divorced | 8.3% | 8.1% |
About these numbers
- Disability here means having a lot of difficulty, or being unable, to do at least one basic activity: seeing, hearing, walking, remembering, self-care or communicating. People aged 5 and over, Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
- UBOS labels the wealth table “family income”; the groups are household wealth fifths, from poorest to richest.
- Survey estimates for single sub-regions are less precise than national figures.
Where this comes from
- Prevalence of functional difficulty by domain for persons aged 5+, 2022
- Comparisons of prevalence of functional difficulty level by years
- Prevalence of disability by Age Group
- Persons with a lot of difficulty or cannot do at all
- Family income level by disability status
- Education attainment of persons with functional difficulties
- Percentage of persons with a lot of difficulties or who cannot do at all by marital status