Quantifying disability using the Washington Group questionnaire: prevalence and patterns by age and sex in Indonesia

Recognising disability prevalence is essential for shaping population policy, as well as for public health and economic initiatives, that address the specific needs of people with disabilities (PwDs). However, disability statistics often receive inadequate attention in developing countries like Indonesia. This study addresses the gap by using disability measurements based on the Washington Group Short Set Enhanced, applied to data sets from the 2018 National Socio-Economic Survey (SUSENAS). It quantifies disabilities across three severity degrees, with each degree having eight domains, disaggregated by sex and age, to understand the prevalences, patterns, and median age of PwDs. Descriptive statistics and graphical analyses are conducted to explore age and sex patterns. The study finds that women consistently show a higher prevalence than men. It highlights the dominance of visual and walking disabilities across all severity degrees, along with a steady rise in disability prevalence with age. While the increase is initially gradual, it accelerates sharply in older age groups across both domains and severity degrees. Disability among the working-age population is also notable, underscoring the need for stronger policy interventions. Key domains —vision, mobility, and hearing— require targeted attention to effectively address disability in Indonesia’s ageing population.