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Key Factors: Data pertaining to persons with
disabilities are largely non-existent in Guyana.
The situation confronting most people with
disabilities is one of limited opportunities, lack
of programs, and negative social treatment.
Services and facilities are typically inadequate,
non-existent, or provided on an ad hoc basis.
There is no official definition of disability in Guyana.
An exact number of persons with disabilities in Guyana is not yet available. The census conducted in late 2003 was the first to include specific questions about disability. At the time of this writing, results had not been made public.
The most recent data regarding the number of persons with disabilities
living in Guyana was published by Pan American Health Organization in 1993
and revised in February 1994. The estimated number of persons with disabilities
in Guyana at that time was 71,800.1 Based on the 1991 census estimate of the
country's population, which was close to 800,000, the percentage of the population
living with disabilities was then 9%. The current population of the country is
approximately 740,000.
Legislation & Disability Rights
Legal Protections
The government of Guyana is not a signatory of the OAS Inter-American
Convention of the Elimination of Discrimination Against People with Disabilities.
The United Nations Standard Rules served as a guiding framework for Guyana's
National Policy on Rights of People with Disabilities, but the government has
not responded to the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of
Opportunities for people with Disabilities (UNSREOP) questionnaire.
1 Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Situation Analysis of Disability and Rehabilitation in the English Speaking Caribbean, 1993, revised 16 February 1994.