Key points
- WHO's 2025 report cites 2.6 billion people with conditions that could benefit from rehabilitation in 2021.
- The report gives 340 million years lived with disability and a 79.4% increase from 1990 to 2021.
- These are population estimates, not a count of people who need the same service or treatment.
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Explore the related serviceWhat the 2021 estimate says
WHO's report to its Executive Board states that 2.6 billion people worldwide were living in 2021 with a health condition that could benefit from rehabilitation. The report also cites 340 million years lived with disability (YLDs) from those conditions and a 79.4% increase in YLDs between 1990 and 2021.
YLDs describe population-level time lived with health-related disability. They are not rehabilitation visits, therapy hours, spending or the number of people who received treatment.
A cited summary dataset
The accompanying CSV records each figure with its measure, year, scope and source. It is a curated summary of published estimates, not raw Global Burden of Disease microdata. Keep the year and definition attached whenever the figures are quoted or visualized.
WHO's 2024 rehabilitation fact sheet gives a 2.4 billion estimate from an earlier data vintage; its 2025 report cites the 2.6 billion GBD 2021 estimate. These are different estimation vintages, not a simple one-year increase.
Potential benefit is not a prescription
Rehabilitation includes a range of professions and interventions. A population estimate does not mean every person represented needs physiotherapy, has an unmet need, or would benefit from the same programme. Individual care depends on the person's condition, function, goals, preferences, safety and access to services.
For health systems, these estimates can inform planning across primary, community and specialist care. For an individual, a qualified clinician should assess the specific concern and agree appropriate next steps. Effective coverage also depends on the quality and benefit of the service, not just attendance.
Cite the rehabilitation estimates accurately
- 01
Name the data year
The 2.6 billion and 340 million figures refer to GBD 2021 estimates cited by WHO in 2025.
- 02
Preserve the measure
Do not restate YLDs as visits, spending or people treated.
- 03
Keep the qualification
“Could benefit from rehabilitation” does not mean everyone needs the same intervention.
Before you make a request.
01Does 2.6 billion mean that everyone needs physiotherapy?
No. The estimate covers conditions that could benefit from rehabilitation, which includes more than physiotherapy and does not prescribe an individual service.
02What does YLD mean?
Years lived with disability is a population-health measure of time lived with health-related disability; it is not a count of treatment visits.
03Why do WHO pages show 2.4 billion and 2.6 billion?
They refer to different data vintages. The WHO fact sheet reports an earlier estimate; the 2025 report cites GBD 2021.
Evidence behind this guide.
- 01Download: global rehabilitation-need estimates (CSV)
Goswami Rehab, compiled from cited sources · 2026-10-18
- 02Strengthening rehabilitation in health systems: report by the Director-General, EB158/26
World Health Organization · 2025
- 03Rehabilitation Need Estimator
World Health Organization and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation · 2021
- 04Rehabilitation: fact sheet
World Health Organization · 2024
- 05