The Facts
The number of people living with a disability is increasing and the World is ageing. Here are the facts
The number of people living with a disability is increasing as the World's population gets older
- An estimated 1 billion people live with some form of disability (UN)
- 60 million people in Middle East suffer from a form of disability
- Due to global ageing populations, the number of people facing accessibility issues will increase faster then population growth
- It is expected that by 2050, the number of people requiring assistive devices such as wheelchairs and communication technologies will double.
39 million disabled people in Europe (Source: CSR Europe).
11 million disabled people in Britain (Source: Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit).
Over 7 million people or 18% of the working-age population in Britain are disabled as defined as by the Equality Act 2010 (Source: Employers’ Forum on Disability).


Accessible Tourism is fast growing sector of the travel industry, central to success of Middle East hospitality
- Accessible tourism is rapidly increasing segment. The increased demand for accessible holidays will grow rapidly as the number of people over 55 increases due to ageing populations.
- For every disabled person, on average 1-2 people will travel with them
- Tourists with special needs spend on average three times more than other tourists
- Over 50% percent of people with disabilities would travel more if accessible facilities were available to them
- On average, 88% of people with a disability take a holiday each year
- Disabled people in the EU make 340 million trips to accessible cities in Europe each year
- Tourist with special needs spend on average three times more than other tourists
Improved accessibility is critical to the rebound and survival of physical retail experiences in the Middle East
- The combined spending power of disabled people is estimated to be £249 billion in the United Kingdom. This is referred to as the ‘purple pound’
- It is estimated that supermarkets and retail stores in the UK lose £768 million income per month due to poor accessibility
- Approximately four in five disabled customers said businesses could do more to make their stores accessible.
- 75% of disabled people have left stores, unable to finish purchases because of their disability
- Three quarters of disabled people say they and their families have left a venue due to accessibility issues
- 72% of disabled people have experienced at least one barrier when playing sport
- 68% of disabled people have experienced a barrier when visiting museum
- The leisure industry in the UK loses an estimated £163 million per month due to poor accessibility


Accessibility is central component in the supply and management of equal educational opportunities
The Office for National Statistics in the UK has explored the outcomes for disabled people across a number of areas of life. Their findings validated the disaparity of employment benefits experienced in UK being rooted in a unfair inequality in educational opportunities within disabled community.
21.8% of disabled people had a degree in 2019 compared with 38.0% of non-disabled people; this gap has remained consistent over the period 2013 to 2019.
Disabled people aged 60 to 64 years were almost two and a half times more likely to have no qualifications than non-disabled people, 24.1% compared with 10.4%, respectively.