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Assistive Technology Market Size & Usage Statistics

Avatar for David Gevorkian | Posted on |

Assistive technology (AT) is the umbrella term for the tools people with disabilities rely on to access information and interact with the world, including screen readers, hearing aids, captioning systems, mobility aids, and cognitive support software. For web teams, AT usage data is not an abstract public health topic. 

It defines the real conditions under which a meaningful share of visitors experience a website, and it explains why WCAG conformance translates directly into who can and cannot use a product. Among all AT categories, digital and software-based assistive technology is growing the fastest, driven by AI-powered features, mobile adoption, and rising awareness of accessibility as a business requirement rather than a compliance afterthought.

Illustration of a wheelchair user browsing a website on a tablet

Global Assistive Technology Usage Statistics

Assistive technology is not a niche global issue. It touches a significant share of the world’s population, and that share is growing as life expectancy rises and chronic health conditions become more common.

How Many People Use Assistive Technology

  • More than 2.5 billion people globally need one or more assistive products, such as wheelchairs, hearing aids, or software that supports communication and cognition. (World Health Organization, 2023)
  • Nearly 1 billion people who need assistive technology are denied access to it, with the gap concentrated in low- and middle-income countries. (WHO-UNICEF Global Report on Assistive Technology, 2022)
  • The number of people needing assistive technology is projected to reach 3.5 billion by 2050, driven by an aging global population and rising rates of noncommunicable disease. (World Health Organization, 2023)
  • Access to assistive products ranges from 3% in low-income countries to roughly 90% in high-income countries, one of the widest access gaps of any health-related resource category. (World Health Organization, 2023)
  • Of the 80 million people globally who need a wheelchair, only 5–35% have access to one, depending on where they live. (World Health Organization, 2023)

Infographic titled 'How many people use assistive technology,' with three stat cards showing 2.5 billion+ people need assistive technology worldwide, about 1 billion are denied access, and need is projected to reach 3.5 billion by 2050. Below, two horizontal bar comparisons show assistive product access ranging from 3% in low-income countries to 90% in high-income countries, and global wheelchair access ranging from 5% to 35% depending on region.

 

AT Usage in the United States

  • More than 1 in 4 U.S. adults, over 70 million people, reported having a disability in 2022, representing the population most likely to rely on some form of assistive technology in daily life. (CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2024)
  • Disability prevalence nearly doubles with age: 23.6% of U.S. adults 18–44 report a disability, compared to 43.9% of adults 65 and older. (CDC, BRFSS, 2022)
  • North America leads the global assistive technology market with $8.7 billion in demand in 2023, more than 38% of the total, driven by an aging population and strong reimbursement infrastructure. (Market.us, Assistive Technology Market Report, 2024)
  • Historical U.S. data shows sustained long-term growth in AT reliance: assistive device use among chronically disabled older Americans rose from 72% in 1984 to 90% by 2004, a trend that has continued as digital and software-based AT has expanded the category further. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ASPE)

Infographic titled 'AT usage in the United States,' with four stat cards: 70 million+ US adults, more than 1 in 4, had a disability in 2022; disability prevalence rises to about 44% among adults 65 and older; North America holds 38%+ of the global assistive technology market; and that market grew from $28.4 billion in 2024 to $31.2 billion in 2025.

AT Usage by Disability Type

Infographic titled 'AT usage in the United States,' with four stat cards: 70 million+ US adults, more than 1 in 4, had a disability in 2022; disability prevalence rises to about 44% among adults 65 and older; North America holds 38%+ of the global assistive technology market; and that market grew from $28.4 billion in 2024 to $31.2 billion in 2025.

Assistive Technology Market Size

Market data confirms what usage statistics already suggest: demand for assistive technology, and particularly for digital and software-based AT, is expanding steadily rather than plateauing.

Global AT Market Size and Growth

  • The global assistive technology market was valued at approximately $22.9 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 4.8% through 2033. (Market.us, Assistive Technology Market Report, 2024)
  • The market is expected to reach approximately $36.6 billion by 2033, roughly 60% larger than its 2023 size, driven by an aging population and increased government support for accessibility. (Market.us, Assistive Technology Market Report, 2024)
  • Independent market research places the 2024 valuation slightly higher, at around $26.8 billion, growing to $41.0 billion by 2033, underscoring that estimates vary by methodology but consistently point to sustained mid-single-digit annual growth. (IMARC Group, Assistive Technology Market Report)

Bar chart titled 'Global AT market size and growth,' comparing two independent forecasts. The left panel shows the assistive technology market growing from $28.4 billion in 2024 to $31.2 billion in 2025 to a projected $44.9 billion by 2029, a 9.9% annual growth rate. The right panel shows an alternate forecast of $30.5 billion in 2026 growing to $49.0 billion by 2033, a 7% annual growth rate.

AT Market by Segment

Infographic titled 'AT market by segment,' with three labeled cards: mobility aids marked as the largest market segment, portable and wearable devices marked as the fastest-growing category, and North America marked as the largest regional market, attributed to healthcare infrastructure and reimbursement systems.

Digital and Software AT Market

Infographic titled 'Digital and software AT market,' with a bar chart showing the digital accessibility software market growing from $878 million in 2025 to $968 million in 2026 to a projected $2.33 billion by 2035, alongside stat cards noting over 10% annual growth, about 42% North America market share, and a note that vendors are increasingly building AI, machine learning, and natural language processing into accessibility tools.

Assistive Technology and Web Accessibility

Every category of assistive technology depends on the same underlying requirement: correctly structured, standards-compliant code. When a site fails basic WCAG criteria, the result is rarely a minor inconvenience. For AT users, it can mean the page is unusable.

Screen Readers and Digital Access

  • 71.6% of screen reader users navigate long web pages primarily by heading structure, making correct heading hierarchy one of the highest-impact fixes on any page. (WebAIM Screen Reader User Survey #10, 2024)
  • 55.5% of the top one million homepages are missing alternative text for images, directly blocking screen reader users from understanding image-based content. (WebAIM Million, 2025)
  • JAWS with Chrome and NVDA with Chrome are the two most common screen reader and browser combinations, and should form the baseline for manual accessibility testing on any WCAG-focused audit. (WebAIM Screen Reader User Survey #10, 2024)

Infographic titled 'Screen readers and digital access,' with two stat cards showing 71.6% of screen reader users navigate long pages by heading structure and 55.5% of the top 1 million homepages are missing alt text, plus a callout identifying JAWS with Chrome and NVDA with Chrome as the two most common screen reader and browser testing combinations.

Captions, Transcripts, and Hearing Accessibility

  • Approximately 430 million people worldwide experience disabling hearing loss, requiring captions or transcripts to access audio and video web content. (World Health Organization, 2025)
  • 80% of UK caption users are not d/Deaf or hard of hearing, one of the clearest signs that captions serve a far bigger audience than the one they were built for. (3Play Media, citing Ofcom research)
  • With 430 million people worldwide living with disabling hearing loss, live captioning has moved from a broadcast-only feature to a baseline expectation on phones, video calls, and streaming apps. (World Health Organization, 2025)

Infographic titled 'Captions, transcripts, and hearing accessibility,' with stat cards showing 430 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss and 80% of caption users are not deaf or hard of hearing, plus a note that live captioning and real-time transcription are increasingly built into mainstream consumer devices.

Keyboard and Motor Accessibility

  • 33.3% of users with mobility impairments rely on a keyboard or keyboard-like device as their primary navigation method, making full keyboard operability a WCAG 2.2 Level A requirement with direct usage impact. (WebAIM, Survey of Users with Motor Disabilities, 2013)
  • Only 36% of users with motor disabilities use mobile accessibility settings, compared to 63% of users with low vision, showing that mobile accessibility tooling still lags for this group. (WebAIM, Survey of Users with Motor Disabilities, 2013)
  • Roughly two-thirds of web pages (67%) actively remove focus outlines in their CSS, stripping the visual cue keyboard and switch-control users depend on to navigate. (Web Almanac, HTTP Archive, 2025)

Infographic titled 'Keyboard and motor accessibility,' showing 33.3% of mobility-impaired users navigate primarily by keyboard, a WCAG 2.2 requirement, followed by two labeled cards marking mobility aids as the largest assistive technology market segment and portable/wearable devices as the fastest-growing category, plus a note on keyboard traps, missing focus indicators, and inaccessible custom widgets as common barriers.

Assistive Technology Adoption Barriers

Even where assistive technology exists, adoption is far from universal. Cost is a persistent barrier: roughly two-thirds of assistive product users report paying out of pocket, and specialized software or devices can be prohibitively expensive without insurance or public funding support. Awareness gaps compound the problem, since many people who could benefit from AT are never informed that a relevant tool exists. 

Compatibility is the barrier most relevant to web teams: even users who have the right assistive technology in hand are blocked when the websites and applications they need to use were not built to support it. A wheelchair does not help someone complete a form that traps keyboard focus, and a screen reader cannot interpret an image with no alternative text. Closing this last gap, the compatibility between AT and the digital products people actually need to use, is squarely within the control of the businesses that build and maintain those products.

Conclusion

Assistive technology usage statistics point to a population that’s large, growing, and increasingly reliant on digital tools rather than physical devices alone. Billions of people worldwide need some form of assistive product, over 70 million of them in the United States alone, and the fastest-growing segment of the market is software built to support access to digital content. 

For any organization managing a public-facing website, these numbers are a reminder that AT compatibility is not a fringe consideration: it determines whether a meaningful share of potential customers, employees, or constituents can use the site at all. A professional website accessibility audit is the most reliable way to confirm your site works with the screen readers, accessible keyboards, and other assistive technologies your visitors actually rely on.

References

Avatar for David Gevorkian

By David Gevorkian

David Gevorkian started Be Accessible because of his passion for delivering exceptional customer service. Prior to Be Accessible, he spent much of his early career working for financial institutions in sales, treasury, and product management. David earned his Master’s in Business Administration from Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. He discovered a common need for web and mobile accessibility during his previous roles, and as a result, he created Be Accessible to make accessibility in reach for any type of business. David is a strong advocate for creating aesthetic and accessible products usable by all people across the world.

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