The incidence of disability in Costa Rica is about 10.5% of the population. The country has been a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) since 2008.
Demographics
editAccording to the 2011 national census, 10.5% (452,859) of Costa Ricans have a disability, 52% of them female and 48% male. Visual impairment that cannot be corrected with spectacles or lenses is the most common disability (56%).[1][2]
A 2023 United Nations article gives figures of 18% (over 670,000) of the population, 61% female and 39% male.[3]
Law and policy
editCosta Rica signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on March 30, 2007, and ratified the treaty on October 1, 2008.[4][5]
Under Law 7600, the Ley de Igualdad de Opportunidades (Law of Equal Opportunities), published in the Diario Oficial La Gaceta (official gazette) on May 29, 1996,[6][7] no person can be discriminated against because they are disabled if they are equally capable as another person.[5] In February 2014, Act No. 18283 of February 2014 amended the law to define persons with disabilities and accessibility in accordance with the CRPD.[5]
In June 2012, Act No. 9049 elevated sign language to the status of an official language.[5]
On August 30, 2016, Law No. 9379, the Ley para la Promoción de la Autonomía Personal de las Personas con Discapacidad (Law for the Promotion of Personal Autonomy for People with Disabilities) went into force to "promover y asegurar, a las personas con discapacidad, el ejercicio pleno y en igualdad de condiciones con los demás del derecho a su autonomía personal" ("to promote and ensure that persons with disabilities fully and equally exercise their right to personal autonomy").[5][8] For the purposes and application of this law, it defines a person with disabilities as:
aquellas que tengan deficiencias físicas, mentales, intelectuales o sensoriales a largo plazo que, al interactuar con diversas barreras, puedan impedir su participación plena y efectiva en la sociedad, en igualdad de condiciones con las demás (those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, when interacting with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others).[8]
Culture
editMay 28 is the Día Nacional de la Persona con Discapacidad (National Disabled People Day) to promote respect for disabled people.[9]
Education
editIn 2020, 70,743 disabled students were afforded special education.[10]
Politics
editThe Accessibility without Exclusion Party (Partido de Acceso Sin Exclusión) has disability rights as a major policy.[11] The party's president and, as of the 2014 general election, only member of the Legislative Assembly was Óscar López.[12]
Sport
editIn the 2020 Summer Paralympics, Sherman Guity won the men's 200 m T64 race and placed second in the 100 m,[13] while he won both races at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.[14] In the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, he won the 100 m event.[15]
References
edit
- ↑ Ministry of Work and Social Security of Costa Rica (December 2012). "MDG Acceleration Framework - National Plan for Vocational Integration of People with Disabilities in Costa Rica" (PDF). undp.org. p. 21. [dead link]
- ↑ "Costa Rica: People with Disabilities". healthsystemsfacts.org. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Disability in Costa Rica". United Nations. March 13, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- ↑ "UN Treaty Collection: parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: List of parties". United Nations. March 21, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-08-19. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Global Directory - Costa Rica". disabilityin.org/. Disability:IN. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Ley 7600: Igualdad de Oportunidades para las Personas con Discapacidad (Law 7600: Equality of Opportunities for People with Disabilities)" (PDF) (in Spanish). United Nations. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- ↑ Preinfalk, Nicole. "Overview of Costa Rica's Disability Law 7600". costaricalaw.com/. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- 1 2 "Ley para la Promoción de la Autonomía Personal de las Personas con Discapacidad" (PDF) (in Spanish). United Nations. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- ↑ "May 29th: National Day Of People With Disabilities". thecostaricanews.com/. May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- ↑ Stough, Laura M. (2003). "Special Education and Severe Disabilities in Costa Rica: Developing Inclusion in a Developing Country" (PDF). Research & Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities. 28 (1): 7. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Acceso Sin Exclusión" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2015-11-28.
- ↑ Arias, L. (May 1, 2014). "11 lawmakers return to Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly for second term". The Tico Times. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Results Archive - Tokyo 2020 - Athletics". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Results Archive - Paris 2024 Paralympic Games - Athletics". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Kobe 2024: Monday sees shocking wins on the track and the field". International Paralympic Committee. May 20, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2026.