Outcomes for disabled people in the UK: 2021

Summary

One-quarter (24.9%) of disabled people aged 21 to 64 years in the UK had a degree as their highest qualification compared with 42.7% of non-disabled people; 13.3% of disabled people had no qualifications compared with 4.6% of non-disabled people (year ending June 2021).

Compared with the year ending June 2020 (23.0%), the proportion of disabled people with a degree as their highest qualification increased by 1.9 percentage points; there was also a lower proportion of disabled people having no qualification (a decrease of 1.9 percentage points).

Around half of disabled people aged 16 to 64 years (53.5%) in the UK were in employment compared with around 8 in 10 (81.6%) for non-disabled people (July to September 2021); disabled people with severe or specific learning difficulties, autism and mental illness had the lowest employment rates.

Nearly 1 in 4 (24.9%) disabled people aged 16 to 64 years in the UK rented social housing compared with fewer than 1 in 10 (7.9%) non-disabled people; they were also less likely to own their own home (39.7%) and less likely to live with parents (16.4%) than non-disabled people (53.3% and 19.2% respectively) (year ending June 2021).

Comparing the housing situation of disabled people over time, a decrease of 1.7 percentage points was seen in the proportion of home ownership in 2021, compared with 2020 (41.4% in 2020, compared with 39.7% in 2021).

Disabled people aged 16 to 64 years had poorer ratings than non-disabled people on all four personal well-being measures; average anxiety levels were higher for disabled people at 4.6 out of 10, compared with 3.0 out of 10 for non-disabled people (year ending June 2021).

The proportion of disabled people (15.1%) aged 16 years and over in England who reported feeling lonely “often or always” was over four times that of non-disabled people (3.6%) (year ending March 2021).”

Outcomes for disabled people across areas of life including education, employment, social participation, housing, well-being, loneliness and crime. Analysis by disability status and by age, sex, impairment type and severity, and country and region, based on survey data.