How prevalent are intellectual disabilities?
Intellectual disability knows no boundaries. It cuts across the lines of racial, ethnic, educational, social and economic backgrounds, and it can occur in any family. The following statistics and information on intellectual disabilities have been adapted from information from the Population Reference Bureau, The Arc (formerly the Association for Retarded Citizens), the World Health Organization and various associations for people with disabilities. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 190 million people or three percent of the world’s population, have intellectual disabilities – the largest disability population in the world. Prevalence by continent: Regions Population Popluation with ID Number of Specical Olympics Athletes Percent of Population Served by Special Olympics Africa 559,425,000 16,783,000 102,507 0.61% Asia 3,649,049,000 109,472,000 1,341,582 2.70% Europe 884,184,000 26,526,000 457,375 1.72% Latin America 395,997,000 11,880,000 293,551 2.47% MENA 391,4
