Global wheelchair market volume by region 2010 and 2018

Projections showed that in 2018 the global wheelchair market stood at some 5.6 billion U.S. dollars. That is a significant increase from around 3.5 billion dollars back in 2010. When it comes to splitting the global market by region, the United States is by far the largest, responsible for over 40 percent of the global total market. Europe and the Asian-Pacific region follow the U.S. as leading regional wheelchair markets.

The market situation

One of the main drivers of the wheelchair market is an increasingly aging population because with growing age the probability of needing mobile assistance aids becomes higher. Further drivers are a rising tendency in the prevalence of spinal cord injuries and obesity and a growing homecare market. Wheelchairs are becoming more and more sophisticated, with a high level of efficiency and increased comfort. Manual wheelchairs are still the largest product group, but all types of powered wheelchairs are steadily gaining ground in the market. Among the leading wheelchair producers are Invacare, Pride Mobility Products, Sunrise Medical, OttoBock Healthcare, and Permobil.

When a wheelchair is needed

When it comes to the main reasons for the need of a wheelchair, cerebrovascular conditions are the leading cause, followed by arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and paraplegia. Wheelchairs have a significant role, allowing handicapped and disabled persons to take part in social life and to maintain a certain grade of autonomy. In fact, many persons would be confined to their homes or even beds without wheelchairs. On the other hand, wheelchairs considerably unburden the work of caregivers.