International Day of Persons with Disabilities (Disability Statistics)

Disability inclusion is about valuing people’s differences and strengths and removing the difficulties that might hold people back. Disabilities are more prevalent than you might think. We all need to get better at ensuring disabled people are included in the workplace and when we develop products and services.

We’ve created an infographic of UK-focused disability statistics to help you celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities and start a conversation on disability in your own organisation.  All statistics are UK wide.

BDF – View and download the full infographic (pdf  version)

BDF – View and download the full infographic (Word version)

In the UK

• 1 in 5 people have a disability (Source: Family Resources Survey: financial year 2019-2020, Department for Work and Pensions).
• 25% of people with a disability consider themselves to be ‘disabled’ (Source: Office for National Statistics, 2013.
• 19% of working age adults have a disability (Source: Family Resources Survey: financial year 2019-2020, Department for Work and Pensions).

Employment

• 28.4% employment gap between people who have a disability and people who do not have a disability (Source: Office for National Statistics, November 2021).
• 60% of employees with workplace adjustments don’t have all the adjustments they need (Source: The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2019-20, Business Disability Forum).
• 34% of disabled employees don’t ask for adjustments because they fear being treated differently (The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2019-20, Business Disability Forum).
• Only 5% of disabled people feel they are given the employment opportunities they need to thrive in society (Source: National Disability Strategy, 2021).
• 1 in 14 disabled people have turned down a job due to inaccessible public transport (Source: Now is the Time: a report by the CSI Disability Commission, Centre for Social Justice).

Consumers

• £16 billion estimated online spending potential of disabled people (Source: Purple, Accessed November 2021).
• 53% disabled people say pubs, bars and restaurants are inaccessible to them to some extent (Source: ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey: Covid 19 module, Office for National Statistics).
• 75% disabled people have chosen not to use a product or service due to poor accessibility or customer service (Source: Purple, Accessed November 2021).
• Nearly 1 in 4 disabled people don’t have a home that is accessible to them (Source: Yougov poll for Habinteg, 2020).

Business Disability Forum is a not-for-profit membership organisation which exists to transform the life chances of disabled people, working through and with business and Government to create a disability-smart world.

If learning more about disability has sparked interest in learning about how to build more in disability inclusion at work and you’re interested in becoming a Member of Business Disability Forum, please find more information in the Membership benefits page.

If you require this content in a different format, contact enquiries@businessdisabilityforum.org.uk.