One in six New Zealanders are disabled - but the rate is significantly higher for the rainbow population and Māori, Stats NZ data has revealed.
Its 2023 Household Disability Survey found 10% of children and 18% of adults were disabled, totalling 851,000 people, or 17% of the population.
Stats NZ counted someone as disabled if they reported long-term difficulty with at least one of fourteen functions, which included senses, walking, flexibility, intellect, mental health, pain and fatigue. People were asked about difficulties seeing or hearing while using glasses or hearing aids.
Physical disabilities were the most common for adults, and mental health difficulties were most common for children, it found.
A higher rate of disability among adults was to be expected, said Stats NZ social and community spokesperson Nicolette Edgar.
"Illness, accidents, and the effects of ageing tend to increase the rates of disability later in life," she said.
Nearly a third of the LGBTQI+ population reported a disability, the data showed.
They were more likely to have difficulty with cognition, mental health, socialising, fatigue, and sensory functions, StatsNZ said.
Disability rates were also higher for Māori (24%) and females (18%, compared to 15% of males).
Regions with disability rates significantly higher than the national rate were Northland (23%), Manawatū-Whanganui (21%), and Taranaki (21%).
But in Auckland the rate was significantly lower, at 14%.
