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DisabledGo & Disability

On this page you will find information about DisabledGo and some facts about disability.

We are always happy to assist journalists who would like to know more about us. Should you not find the information you require below please contact us at media@disabledgo.com.

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DisabledGo.com quick facts

- We were founded in 2000 by our Chief Executive Dr. Gregory Burke
- We launched our first access guide in 2002
- We send a trained surveyor to visit all venues featured on www.disabledgo.com
- We continually consult with disabled people
- We work with in excess of 200 public sector partners in the UK and Ireland
- Our service is free for anyone to use
- All the information we collect is collected for a reason, disabled people have told us it is important to know
- Our aim is to empower people with the information needed to make a confident choice, not to tell people what is right for them

For further information about our work please see Who We Are and What We Do.

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Disability statistics

Disability is not a minority issue, as demonstrated by the wide range of statistics below -

- The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that disabled people make up 10% of the population - around 650 million people.
- 39 million disabled people in Europe. (Source: CSR Europe)
- 11 million disabled people in Britain (Source: Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit)
- Only 17% of disabled people were born with their disabilities (Source: Institute for Public Policy Research article Work for disabled people)
- Britain's disabled people are estimated to spend £80 billion per year ( Source: DWP)
- 2% of the working age UK population becomes disabled every year - 78% of disabled people acquire their impairment aged 16 or older. (Source: Employers Forum on Disability)
- One in four people will be affected by mental ill health in the course of their life (Source: Mind)
- One in six people of the working age population (aged 16 to 64) in Europe has either a long-standing health problem or a disability. (Source: Employers Forum on Disability)
- One in four men and one in five women will suffer a critical illness before they are 65 (Source: Health insurance: the online guide to critical illness insurance)
- Disability is estimated to affect 10 per cent to 20 per cent of every country's population, a percentage that is expected to grow because of poor health care and nutrition early in life, growing elderly populations and violent civil conflicts. (Source:: CSR Europe)
- Only 8 per cent of disabled people in the UK use a wheelchair. (Source: CSR Europe, ‘Disability: facts and figures' 2007)
- For every child killed in warfare, three are injured and permanently disabled (Source: UN).
- 25% of the entire population is either directly or indirectly affected by a disability (Source: UN and World Bank).