Statistics on deafness in the UK, South East and employment

Some facts and figures about deafness

U.K. Deaf Population

·                     There are estimated to be about 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK. The number is rising as the number of people over 60 increases.

·                     Over 680,000 people are classified as severely to profoundly deaf, which is equivalent to approx. 1% of the total UK population.

·                     108,000 of them are between the ages of 16 – 60

          

Deafness in the South East of England (Excluding London)

Although there are no official statistics regarding the numbers of deaf people in the South Eastern region, it is believed that the percentage of the deaf population is roughly the same throughout the country.

• This would mean that in an estimated population of 8,000,000 people in the South East, there would be approximately 80,000 severely to profoundly deaf people.
• 12,712 of them would be between the ages of 16 – 60

Deafness and the difficulties finding employment

• Prior to the recession, there were already one in five deaf people out of work, compared to one in 20 in the UK labour market.
• Nearly a fifth of those unemployed had been looking for a job for five years or more, with 36pc searching and applying for roles with no success for more than two years.

            Sign Language

Many people who are prelingually deaf use sign language to communicate. It is difficult to say how many people in the UK use British Sign Language (BSL) as their first or preferred language - current estimates suggest between 50,000 and 70,000. It is estimated that about 250,000 people regularly communicate in sign language, many of them hearing. 
More people (Deaf and hearing) use BSL, than speak Welsh or Gaelic.

For more information and news stories about deafness and British Sign Language (BSL) please visit our website www.silent-sounds.co.uk