Why do inclusive design

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Overview | Worldwide case (3) | Company case | Project case

The worldwide case

Age variation | Capability variation | Simplicity

The demographics of the developed world are changing; longer life expectancies and a reduced birth rate are resulting in an increased proportion of older people within the adult population.

This is leading to a reduction in the Potential Support Ratio (PSR), which is the number of people aged 15-64 who could support one person aged over 65.

  • In 1950 the worldwide PSR was 12:1
  • In 2000 the PSR was 9:1
  • by 2050 it will be 4:1 globally and 2:1 in the developed world

Maintaining quality of life and independent living for this ageing population is increasingly important and will soon be an absolute necessity for all countries in both the developed and developing world.

Graph showing that half the adult population is aged over 45.

The distribution of age within the adult population of Great Britain (Source)Figure source: The Disability Follow-up Survey (Grundy et al. 1999)

Graph showing declining markets for age groups under 45 years, but emerging markets for age groups older than 45 years.

Change in the population within each age band over time (Source)Figure source: The Government Actuary's Department