According to the Population and Housing Census of 1994, of a total population of 53,477,265 there were 988,849 people with disabilities in Ethiopia (1.85 per cent of the population).

The 1994 Census is acknowledged to have underestimated the number of disabled persons in the country. In 2003, it is estimated that there are over 5 million children, adults and elderly persons with disabilities in Ethiopia, representing 7.6 per cent of the population. According to a recent survey on disability in Ethiopia, 60 per cent of persons with disabilities in Ethiopia were unemployed in 1995, of whom two-thirds were self-employed in rural areas in occupations such as agriculture, animal husbandry or forest activities. None of the disabled people surveyed were reported to be employed in administration or management positions.

According to the most conservative estimates of the World Health Organisation (WHO), at minimum, people with disabilities comprise 10% of any population.