Annual Disability and Activity Survey

Photo credit: British Blind Sport.

Annual Disability and Activity Survey 2023-24

Activity Alliance releases Annual Disability and Activity Survey report for 2023-24. The survey is the primary source of insight for organisations working to achieve fairness for disabled people in sport and activity.  

This year’s results shows disabled people are twice as likely to be inactive than non-disabled people, a disparity that has remained consistent since the first report was released five years ago.

The survey was conducted by IFF Research between October and November 2023. 2,320 disabled and non-disabled adults aged 16+ took part. This survey complements Sport England’s Active Lives Adult Survey and provides greater detail on issues of importance to disabled people.

This year, our report focuses on five key areas: 

1. Participation and experiences
2. The legacy of COVID-19 and the cost-of-living crisis
3. Outdoor spaces and active travel
4. Mental wellbeing and loneliness
5. Representation and belonging

Key findings:

• 43% of disabled people feel they have the chance to be as active as they desire, compared to 69% of non-disabled people. Disabled women are more likely feel the disparity in perceived opportunity compared to disabled men (39% vs 48%) 
• Six in ten (59%) say they rely on their benefits or financial assistance to be active. Around two-fifths (38%) of disabled people say that a fear of their benefits or financial assistance being taken away prevents them from trying to be more active. 
• Disabled people are most likely to say they prefer being active in outdoor spaces like parks, countryside, or woodland compared to other locations. Less than half (44%) of disabled people say it’s easy for them to physically access outdoor spaces (vs 78% of non-disabled people).
• Disabled people are significantly less likely to report high satisfaction with their life, happiness and feelings of worthwhileness compared to non-disabled people. 
• Among those who said they feel lonely sometimes, often, or always, two-thirds agreed that being active could help them feel less lonely (66%).
• Ethnically diverse disabled people are more likely to say they often or always felt lonely (35% vs 19%).
• Disabled people are less than half as likely to ‘see people like them’ playing, working, and volunteering in sport and physical activity.

Please contact our research team to discuss how to access, interpret, and use the data. For further breakdowns of the data or to view a data table, please reach out to us. Or if you require any further support to access the Annual Disability and Activity Survey reports, or would like to request an accessible Word copy, email annabel@activityalliance.org.uk or call 08081 756991.

Use #ActivityAllianceSurvey to share your thoughts about this report on social media. Find us on Twitter @AllForActivity.