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 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

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

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.