Description of illnesses by impairment type for athletes competing at the Rio 2016 Summer Paralympic Games
| Impairment type | Total number of illnesses (percentage of total number of illnesses) | Number of athletes with an illness | Proportion of ill athletes in each impairment type (%) |
| All | 511 (100) | 454 | 100 |
| Spinal cord injury | 162 (31.7) | 140 | 30.8 |
| Limb deficiency (amputation, dysmelia, congenital deformity) | 118 (23.1) | 110 | 24.2 |
| Central neurological injury (cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke other neurological impairment) | 79 (15.5) | 67 | 14.8 |
| Visual impairment | 62 (12.1) | 58 | 12.8 |
| Other | 31 (6.1) | 29 | 6.4 |
| Unknown | 6 (1.2) | 6 | 1.3 |
| Intellectual impairment | 27 (5.3) | 22 | 4.8 |
| Les autres (non-spinal polio myelitis, ankylosis, leg shortening, joint movement restriction, nerve injury resulting in local paralysis) | 13 (2.5) | 11 | 2.4 |
| Short stature | 13 (2.5) | 11 | 2.4 |