Facts & Figures
The following statistics are taken from a wide-ranging survey undertaken by the Office of Population Census and Statistics between 1985 and 1988. This is the most comprehensive information we have about people with disabilities in Great Britain.
- 8 million people affected by diseases relating to arthritis (source: Arthritis Care)
- 8.7 million people with some degree of hearing loss (source: Royal National Institute for Deaf People
- Over 1 million people with a learning disability (source: MENCAP)
- Over 250000 people with severe facial disfigurement (source: Changing Faces)
- Nearly 1 million blind or partially sighted people source: Royal National Institute for the Blind)
- Almost 70% of disabled adults are 60 or over(source: Office of Population and Statistics (OPCS))
- Currently 40% of the UK population are aged over 45, the age at which the likelihood of disability begins to increase significantly (source: OPCS)
- Over 90% of visually impaired adults are aged 60 or over (source: OPCS)
- Over 360000 children under 16 have one or more disabilities representing 3% of all children under 16 (source: OPCS)