Cerebral Palsy Key Facts and Statistics

Cerebral Palsy Key Facts and Statistics

  • Around 2-2.5 in every 1000 children in the UK are born with cerebral palsy
  • There are approximately 1,800 children diagnosed with cerebral palsy every year
  • There is an estimated 30,000 children with cerebral palsy in the UK
  • There are 3 main types of cerebral palsy. However, many people will present a mixture of these types:
  • Cerebral palsy is the single largest cause of childhood physical disability in the developed world
  • Cerebral palsy is more common in girls than boys
  • The rate of cerebral palsy is significantly higher amongst children born prematurely or with low birth weight
  • The life expectancy of a child with mild CP is much the same as the population average
  • A child of two with cerebral palsy who cannot walk has a 3 in 4 chance of living to adulthood
  • There is not always a single identifiable cause of cerebral palsy, the main causes include:
    • Infection in the early part of pregnancy
    • Lack of oxygen to the brain
    • Abnormal brain development
    • A genetic link (fairly rare)

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