General Article Disability in the United Kingdom 2016 facts and figures

Topic Selected: Disabilities
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An extract from an article by the Papworth Trust.

Key statistics

  • There are around 11.9 million disabled people in the UK. Almost one in five people (19%) in the UK have a disability; this figure has remained relatively constant over time (12.2 million in 2012/13).

  • The prevalence of disability rises with age: in 2012/13, 7% of children were disabled (0.9 million), compared to 16% of adults of working age (6.1 million), and 42% of adults over state pension age (5.1 million). There are more disabled women than men in the UK.

  • In 2014/15, the most common impairments that disabled people had were: mobility (57%), stamina/breathing/fatigue (38%), dexterity (28%) and mental health (16%). Some people had more than one impairment but were asked to identify which one had the most impact on daily life.

  • The distribution of disabled people is fairly evenly spread across the UK. The North East, Wales, the North West and East Midlands have the highest rates of disability, while London, the ...

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