fb
ADHD UK Logo
ADHD UK Logo

ADHD Incidence

There are 3 million people in the UK with ADHD (623k children, 1.875m adults)

NHS England have estimates of ADHD in England. Showing 2,498,000 in England, of which 623,000 are children (0-18). ADHD UK have used those figures to extrapolate for the Devolved Nations and UK as a whole.

Childhood ADHD: In the UK, a research survey of 10,438 children between the ages of 5 and 15 years found that 3.62% of boys and 0.85% of girls had ADHD [Journal of Attention Disorders]. Global prevalence is considered to be between 2 and 7% with an average of 5%. [The Lancet]. The challenge for getting an exact incidence is that different countries, organisations, and professionals draw the line in different places for where they consider impairment to start, and therefore where they consider naming ADHD. Research conducted in Newcastle showed prevalence of 11% when asking about the symptoms but not looking for impairment. Then with impairment they found 6.7% with moderately low impairment, 4.2% for moderate impairments, and 1.4% for severe pervasive impairment. [European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry]. Regarding the gender split (roughly 4:1 boys:girls) there is an active discussion about whether female ADHD is under-diagnosed and if so the reasons for that.

Adult ADHD: ADHD changes with age (see below). It is thought that some children no longer have impairments; however, the majority, around 65%, retain some impairments in adulthood. The same study estimated prevalence of adult ADHD at 4.4%.  [The American Journal of Psychiatry]. The UK Nice guidelines provide for an adult incidence rate of between 3 and 4%.

Devolved Nations Total ADHD Population Estimates

Extrapolating the figures above for the devolved nations. Mid-2023 population data above is divided using the percentage split from ONS data on the devolved nation population sizes. The England figure is from NHS Digital’s data on NHS England’s ADHD Estimate. Then extrapolated by ADHD UK for the Devolved Nations based on their relative overall total population.

England
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
UK
Population (ONS)
57,690,300
5,490,100
3,164,400
1,920,400
68,265,200
Percentage
84.5%
8%
4.6%
2.8%
100%
ADHD Population*
2,498,000
237,722
137,019
83,154
2,955,895

* England’s ADHD population number NHS England’s ADHD Estimate. Devolved Nations population numbers are a simple extrapolation by ADHD UK based on total nation size.

Devolved Nations Children (0-18) ADHD Population Estimates

The England figures are from NHS Digital’s data on NHS England’s ADHD Estimate. Then extrapolated by ADHD UK for the Devolved Nations based on their relative overall total population.

England
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
UK
Children under 5
147000
13,989
8,063
4,893
173,945
Children 5 - 17 (up to 18th birthday)
476,000
45,298
26,109
15,845
563,252
Total Children (0-18)
623,000
59,287
34,172
20,738
737,197

Devolved Nations Young Adults (18-25) ADHD Population Estimates

The England figures are from NHS Digital’s data on NHS England’s ADHD Estimate. Then extrapolated by ADHD UK for the Devolved Nations based on their relative overall total population.

England
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
UK
Young Adults 18 -24
265,000
25,218
14,535
8,821
313,574
Total of Children and Young Adults
741,000
70,516
40,644
24,666
876,826

Devolved Nations Adult ADHD Population Estimates

The England figure was calculated by ADHD UK from NHS England’s ADHD Estimate. Data for young adults (18-25) and Adults (25+) combined to give an overall Adults figure. Then extrapolated by ADHD UK for the Devolved Nations based on their relative overall total population.

England
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
UK
Total Adults (18 and above)
1,875,000
178,433
102,845
62,414
2,218,692