Assistive technology spans products, digital solutions and related services that support cognition, communication, hearing, mobility, self-care and vision. The available evidence shows a large and growing need, but access remains sharply unequal by setting, product and health-system capacity.
Key Assistive Technology Statistics
These figures summarize the scale, distribution and measured effects of assistive technology worldwide:
- More than 2.5 billion people globally could benefit from at least one assistive product in the 2021 estimate.
- Global need is forecast to exceed 3.5 billion people by 2050.
- About two in three people aged 60 years and older globally need at least one assistive product, according to the 2021 reporting cycle.
- Around one in ten children globally had a disability in the 2021 publication estimate.
- Nearly 2.5 billion people are projected to have some degree of hearing loss by 2050.
- More than 700 million people are projected to require hearing rehabilitation by 2050.
- Seeing difficulties were reported by 21% of the surveyed population across a 35-country evidence base through 2021.
- Mobility difficulties were reported by 12% of the surveyed population across the same 35-country evidence base through 2021.
- Estimated assistive-technology access ranged from 3% to 90% across surveyed settings through 2021.
- Estimated access was 10.7% in low-HDI settings through 2021.
- An estimated 80 million people globally needed wheelchairs in the 2022 report evidence.
- Wheelchair access ranged from 5% to 35% among countries with available evidence in the 2022 report evidence.
- Hearing-aid production met less than 10% of global demand in the 2022 report evidence.
- Legislation existed in 62 of 70 reporting countries through December 2021.
- Only about one in ten countries reported adequate trained resources at all levels for all assistive-technology domains through December 2021.
- Only one third of countries had services for all domains across their territory through December 2021.
- More than half of users in most surveyed countries found products suitable at home through 2021.
- Unaddressed hearing loss carried an estimated annual global cost of almost US$1 trillion in 2026.
Contents
- Global scale and future need
- Who needs assistive technology and which functions are affected
- Assistive technology access and equity
- Costs, affordability and funding
- System readiness, availability and workforce
- Outcomes, participation and hearing technology evidence
Global Scale and Future Need: Assistive Technology Trends
The WHO Global Report on Assistive Technology Executive Summary estimates that more than 2.5 billion people could benefit from one or more assistive products in 2021. That figure is projected to exceed 3.5 billion people by 2050, so the forecast describes future need rather than an observed 2026 count. Global Report on Assistive Technology Executive Summary
Ageing and hearing trends add to the scale. In the 2021 reporting cycle, about two in three people aged 60 years and older globally needed at least one assistive product, while nearly 2.5 billion people are projected to have some degree of hearing loss by 2050 and more than 700 million are projected to require hearing rehabilitation.
WHO describes assistive technology across six functional domains: cognition, communication, hearing, mobility, self-care and vision. The definition includes digital solutions, so the subject is broader than computer accessories or individual devices. Assistive technology data portal
UNICEF estimated that around one in ten children globally had a disability in its 2021 publication. In low-income countries, less than 10% of children with disabilities attended school in that estimate, a participation statistic that provides context but does not measure assistive-product use. Assistive Technology for Children with Disabilities
Who Needs Assistive Technology and Which Functions Are Affected
The WHO global report’s evidence base covered 35 countries through 2021. The following percentages are reported difficulties in the surveyed population; they are not a single clinical prevalence study and should not be added together.
| Functional area | Reported difficulty | Evidence scope |
|---|---|---|
| Seeing | 21% | 35-country evidence base, through 2021 |
| Mobility | 12% | 35-country evidence base, through 2021 |
| Cognition | 6.5% | 35-country evidence base, through 2021 |
| Hearing | 5% | 35-country evidence base, through 2021; self-reported, not clinical disabling loss |
| Self-care | 4.2% | 35-country evidence base, through 2021 |
| Communication | 2.5% | 35-country evidence base, through 2021 |
The three most frequently reported assistive-technology needs in the surveyed countries were spectacles, walking sticks and hearing aids. This is a ranking of categories, not a count of units or a global sales ranking. Global Report on Assistive Technology Executive Summary
Hearing-specific estimates illustrate why definitions matter. In 2026, around 95.1 million children aged 5–19 were estimated to live with hearing loss worldwide, while about 430 million people, including 34 million children, were estimated to require rehabilitation for disabling hearing loss.
WHO defines disabling hearing loss as greater than 35 decibels in the better-hearing ear. More than 25% of people older than 60 were affected by disabling hearing loss in the 2026 estimate, which is narrower than the broader measure of hearing loss. Deafness and hearing loss
Assistive Technology Access and Equity
Access differs strongly by human-development setting. The WHO report estimated access at 87.7% in very-high-HDI settings, 64.6% in high-HDI settings, 33.2% in medium-HDI settings and 10.7% in low-HDI settings through 2021.
| Setting | Estimated access | Period and caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Very-high HDI | 87.7% | Through 2021; survey or estimate |
| High HDI | 64.6% | Through 2021; survey or estimate |
| Medium HDI | 33.2% | Through 2021; survey or estimate |
| Low HDI | 10.7% | Through 2021; survey or estimate |
Across surveyed settings, estimated access ranged from 3% to 90%. That is a range, not a global mean, and the underlying evidence may be self-reported or country-reported. Global Report on Assistive Technology Executive Summary
Wheelchair need is also substantial. WHO reported an estimated 80 million people globally needing wheelchairs in its 2022 report evidence, while access ranged from 5% to 35% among countries with available evidence.
The same 2022 evidence estimated that 1.5 billion people globally had hearing loss and that hearing-aid production met less than 10% of global demand. The production figure is not fitting coverage, and the wheelchair range is country-dependent rather than a global average. Assistive technology
Costs, Affordability and Funding for Assistive Technology
The Eastern Mediterranean rapid assessment provides regional country-response data, but its cost tables have small bases and non-response limitations. The table period is unstated, so these figures should be read as a regional assessment rather than a current global price index.
| Measure | Mobility products | Hearing products |
|---|---|---|
| Very low market cost | 9.1% of responses | Not supplied |
| Low market cost | 40.1% of responses; US$10–100 | Not supplied |
| Average market cost | 35.8% of responses; US$100–1,000 | Not supplied |
| High market cost | Not supplied | 11.8% of responses; US$1,000–10,000 |
| Bulk procurement | 46.0% of responses | 52.9% of responses |
| Public share of running costs | 32.4% | 40.0% |
Transportation cost was mostly less than 3% of product cost in the Eastern Mediterranean assessment, while maintenance cost was mostly less than 1%–3% of product cost. Those percentages describe reported regional patterns, not a universal ownership-cost rule.
Public funding supplied 32.4% of mobility-product running costs and 40.0% of hearing-product running costs in the assessment. The figures are sector shares, not total public spending, and the hearing estimate has a small base. Assistive technology in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: results of a rapid assessment
System Readiness, Availability and Workforce Data
WHO’s assistive technology data portal summarizes responses from 70 reporting countries through December 2021. Legislative or administrative presence does not by itself establish implementation, effectiveness or actual service use.
- Legislation existed in 62 of 70 reporting countries, and cost-cover measures existed in 63 of 70.
- Sixty-nine of 70 countries had a responsible ministry or authority, but having an authority does not guarantee delivery.
- About one third of countries had separate assistive-technology legislation.
- Three quarters of countries had at least one assistive-technology regulation, standard or protocol.
Workforce and territorial coverage remained more limited. Only about one in ten countries reported adequate trained resources at all levels for all domains, while almost one third reported no adequate trained resources for any domain.
Fourteen percent of countries reported no relevant assistive-technology training or education. Only one third had services for all domains across their territory, and around one half had services for only some domains or areas. Assistive technology data portal
Outcomes, Participation and Hearing Technology Evidence
User-reported suitability and participation provide useful outcome signals, but they are not pooled causal estimates. Through 2021, more than 50% of users in most surveyed countries found products suitable at home, more than 50% found them suitable in public environments, and more than 50% said products supported participation in desired activities.
The hearing-loss evidence shows why access and outcomes matter economically. Nearly 80% of people with disabling hearing loss lived in low- and middle-income countries in the 2026 estimate, and unaddressed hearing loss carried an estimated annual global cost of almost US$1 trillion.
WHO also estimated that more than 1 billion young adults were at risk of avoidable permanent hearing loss in 2026. Less than US$1.40 per person annually was estimated to be enough to scale up global ear and hearing care, while hearing-care investment could return nearly US$16 per US$1 over 10 years; these are sector estimates, not guaranteed individual returns and not spending figures for hearing aids alone. Deafness and hearing loss
Nearly 60% of childhood hearing loss was attributed to avoidable causes in the 2026 estimate. WHO identifies at least five hearing-related assistive-technology categories: hearing aids, cochlear implants, captioning, alerting and telecommunication devices.
These categories describe an inventory of technologies, not adoption rates. Together with the global access gaps, the evidence points to a field where measurement must distinguish need, availability, affordability, fitting, sustained use and participation rather than treating any one figure as a complete measure of success. Deafness and hearing loss