Facts and Figures About Disabled People in the UK

There are over 11 million people with disability in the UK.
Disability is more likely to affect older adults over State Pension age. They account for 45% of the disabled in the UK compared to 16% of working age adults and 6% children.
Disability prevalence increases with age. Nearly 80% of older adults aged 85 or more are disabled.
Over 80% of disabled people acquired disability later in life. Fewer than 20% were born with disability.
Less than 8% of disabilities require the use of a wheelchair.
Disability is more likely to affect low-income, unemployed or low-educated individuals.
Nearly 40% of people say that the disabled are a social burden.
More than 60% of people say that they are avoiding the disabled because they don’t know how to behave around them.
Each day, 180 disability hate crimes are reported in the UK.
Over 50% of people think of disability as a physical impairment.
Almost 2 million people in the UK are blind.
The number of blind people in the UK is estimated to exceed 2 1/4 million by 2020 and double to approximately 4 million by 2050.
About 40,000 people aged 25 or younger are blind or partially sighted in the UK.
There is an estimated 9 million deaf or hard of hearing people in the UK.
One half of all deaf or hard of hearing people in the UK are working age adults.
Approximately 2 million people in the country are using hearing aids.
Over 800 babies in the UK are born deaf each year; most of them to hearing parents.
Wheelchair is used by an estimated 1.2 people in the UK.
The majority of wheelchair users are aged 60 or more; they account for more than two thirds of all wheelchair users in the UK.
Up to 6,000 people in the UK have restricted growth.
Nearly 1 million people are believed to have learning disability in England alone.
10% of children aged 15 or younger have a mental disorder.
6% (over 750,000) of children in the UK have a disability; they are most likely to come from low-income households.
Up to 1,800 babies in the UK are born with cerebral palsy each year.