Overview
Person with Disability Statistics, Malaysia, 2024, a comprehensive publication that presents selected indicators on persons with disabilities. The report covers statistics on population, health, education, employment, income and expenditure, welfare services and sports. The compilation of these statistics is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
· In 2024, Malaysia recorded 805,509 registered persons with disabilities (PWD), representing 2.4 per cent of the national population. This underscores the importance of inclusive policies to ensure equal rights and opportunities for all Malaysians.
· Within the disability categories, learning disabilities recorded the highest number of registrations in 2024, with 299,128 persons or 37.1 per cent. This was followed by physical disabilities with 286,634 persons or 35.6 per cent. Visual impairment accounted for 68,665 persons or 8.5 per cent, while speech disabilities recorded the lowest number of registrations with
4,136 persons or 0.5 per cent.
· From the education perspective, the number of Students with Special Educational Needs (MBPK) in 2024 increased across all types and education levels as compared to 2023. Special Education Schools (SPK) recorded growth at every level with rising by 5.6 per cent at pre?school, 11.0 per cent at primary and 4.6 per cent at secondary level.
· Employment among civil servants with disabilities also showed positive growth. There were 4,209 civil servants with disabilities in 2024, representing an increase of 7.9 per cent as compared to 3,901 persons in 2023. Negeri Sembilan recorded the highest increase at 20.1 per cent from 169 persons in 2023 to 203 persons in 2024. Sabah recorded an increase of 17.2 per cent, while Kedah recorded an increase of 13.2 per cent.
· Household income and expenditure among households with PWD also improved. The median monthly household gross income rose from RM4,390 in 2022 to RM5,104 in 2024, while the mean monthly household gross income increased from RM5,679 in 2022 to RM6,540 in 2024. At the same time, mean monthly household consumption expenditure grew from RM3,974 in 2022 to RM4,545 in 2024.
· In terms of welfare services, a total of 262,618 persons benefited from the Department of Social Welfare (JKM) assistance amounting to RM1.1 billion. The largest category of assistance was assistance for PWD who are incapable of work, which reached 120,844 persons. This was followed by the PWD worker allowance supporting 106,055 persons and assistance for the care of bedridden/ chronically ill PWD which benefited 34,476 persons.
· Sports participation among persons with disabilities also recorded encouraging growth. The number of disabled athletes increased by 36.6 per cent, rising from 71 persons in 2023 to 97 persons in 2024. Of this total, 76 were male athletes while 21 were female athletes.
