The History of the Washington Group

The Washington Group on Disability Statistics was formed in 2001 as a United Nations Statistical Commission City Group with the major objective of providing basic and necessary information on disability that is comparable on the international level.

Membership of the WG comprises representatives from national statistical offices (NSOs), and includes participation of UN agencies, disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and development agencies.  The main purpose of the WG is the promotion and coordination of international cooperation in health statistics that focus on disability measures suitable for censuses and national surveys. 

The WG − which has developed and tested several tools to be used for the collection of internationally comparable disability statistics − meets annually with representatives from NSOs, international statistical offices, NGOs and DPOs. During the past 15 years, more than 135 countries have had representation within the WG.

The first priority of the WG was to develop a short set of questions − “Short Set” (WG-SS) − suitable for a census or survey. The purpose of the WG-SS is to disaggregate the population by disability status to ascertain if persons with disabilities are participating equally in all aspects of society. Thus far, more than 78 countries have implemented the WG-SS in censuses or surveys. 

The WG-SS has been recommended by UNSD and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Council of European Statisticians as the method for collecting information on disability in the 2020 Round of Population census. Furthermore, the WG-SS has been endorsed by a Disability Data Expert Group under the auspices of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) as the means to disaggregate the SDGs by disability status, and by multiple UN agencies, development bodies, NGOs and DPOs.

To capture more extensive information on disability,  an Extended Set of questions on functioning (ES-F) was developed for use in surveys. Subsequently, and in collaboration with UNICEF, the Child Functioning Module (CFM) was developed. The ongoing work of the WG is now focusing on such issues as mental health, the environment and participation, inclusive education and employment.