Facts and figures

Number of disabled people in the UK

• There are 14.1 million disabled people in the UK.
• More than one in five of us will be affected by disability at some point in our lives.

Source: Family Resources Survey: financial year 2018/19

Number of disabled people globally

• It is estimated that people with disabilities represent at least 15 per cent of the world population or more than 1 billion individuals.

Source: World Health Organization Report on Disability, 2011 

• There are between 180 and 220 million youth with disabilities worldwide, and nearly 80 percent of them live in developing countries.

Source: Employment & Youth with Disabilities: Sharing Knowledge and Practices, P. Roggero, R. Tarricone, M.Nicoli and V.Mangiaterrra, 2005.

Source: United Nations, Youth with Disabilities.

Live

• Over 40% of railways stations in Great Britain do not have step-free access.

Source: Leonard Cheshire, Disabled people cannot use over 40% of Great Britain’s train stations, 2018

• 35% of disabled people say they have experienced problems using the train.

Source: ComRes polling, UK, 2018

• Disabled people between the ages of 18-65 represent one third of social care users.

Source: Papworth Trust, Facts and Figures 2018

• Half (50%) of all people in poverty live in a family that includes a disabled person.

Source: Social Metrics Commission. Measuring Poverty 2020, July 2020.

Learn

• Nearly half (49 per cent) of 25 - 64 year olds with a learning disability or difficulty in Great Britain have no qualifications.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission, April 2017

• More than 260 million children in the world still do not go to school. An estimated one-third of all out-of-school children at primary level have a disability.

Source: World Bank, 2017, Towards a Disability Inclusive Education, A-M Saebones et al, July 2015

• 65 million primary and secondary school age children globally have a disability. At least half of these (30 million) children do not have a school place.

Source: Education Commission Report, 2016 

Note: these data are based on lower- and middle-income countries, not global figures. Children were of primary and lower-secondary school age and are top-end estimates.

Work

• Only around half (53.7%) of disabled people are in work, compared to more than four-fifths (82%) of non-disabled people.

Source: Office for National Statistics, A08: Labour market status of disabled people, November 2021

• 1 in 5 (19%) employers say they would be less likely to hire someone with a disability.
• The cost of making workplace adjustments was cited as a barrier for almost 70% of employers.

Source: Leonard Cheshire, Still Locked Out, 2021.   

• Access to work can pay 100 per cent of costs if applied for in the first six weeks of an individual’s employment and can fund eligible costs up to £62,900 (2021/22).

Source: Access to Work factsheet for employers, 2021