Vision impairment affects at least 2.2 billion people worldwide, including near and distance impairment. The measures below distinguish global estimates, forecasts, country studies and U.S. survey definitions across the periods reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and CDC.
Key Vision Impairment Statistics
The following figures summarize the most broadly useful measures:
- In the WHO global estimate published in 2026, at least 2.2 billion people worldwide had near or distance vision impairment.
- In the same global estimate, at least 1 billion people had vision impairment that could have been prevented or had not yet been addressed.
- In 2015, 1.8 billion people globally had near vision impairment caused by presbyopia, including addressed and unaddressed cases.
- In 2019 estimates, 123.7 million people globally had moderate or severe distance impairment or blindness from unaddressed refractive error.
- In 2019 estimates, 65.2 million people globally had moderate or severe distance impairment or blindness from cataract.
- In 2020, 2.6 billion people of all ages globally had myopia, with an uncertainty interval of 1.97–3.43 billion.
- In 2020, 76 million people globally had glaucoma.
- In 2020, 196 million people globally had age-related macular degeneration.
- In the WHO regional comparison, myopia prevalence was 53.4% in high-income Asia-Pacific countries.
- In the same comparison, myopia prevalence was 51.6% in East Asia.
- In the WHO global estimate published in 2026, distance vision impairment prevalence in low- and middle-income regions was four times the level in high-income regions.
- In specified sub-Saharan African regions, unaddressed near vision impairment rates exceeded 80% in the global estimate published in 2026.
- In the WHO-cited forecast series, global myopia was projected at 3.361 billion people in 2030.
- In the 2030 forecast, high myopia was projected at 516.7 million people globally, with a 298–1,082 million uncertainty interval.
- In the global estimate published in 2026, two out of three people in low-income countries who need eyeglasses lacked access to them.
- In the global estimate published in 2026, one in two people globally who needed cataract surgery lacked access to it.
- WHO estimated annual global productivity losses associated with vision impairment at about US$411 billion in purchasing-power-parity terms.
- In 2018, weighted vision impairment prevalence among U.S. BRFSS adults was 5.3%, based on 23,545 respondents reporting vision impairment.
Contents
- Global scale and definitions
- Causes and forms of vision loss
- Geographic and demographic disparities
- Historical trends and projections
- Access, treatment and participation
- Economic burden and health outcomes
Global Vision Impairment Scale and Definitions
WHO’s global fact sheet reports at least 2.2 billion people with near or distance vision impairment in a global estimate published in 2026. At least 1 billion of those people had impairment that could have been prevented or had not yet been addressed (Blindness and vision impairment).
The categories are not interchangeable. Near impairment, distance impairment, blindness, mild impairment and moderate or severe impairment describe different measurement groupings, and people may have more than one condition.
The 2019 WHO report, using underlying global estimates, quantified several causes of moderate or severe distance impairment or blindness:
- Unaddressed refractive error accounted for an estimated 123.7 million people globally.
- Cataract accounted for an estimated 65.2 million people globally.
- Age-related macular degeneration accounted for an estimated 10.4 million people globally.
- Glaucoma accounted for an estimated 6.9 million people globally.
- Corneal opacities accounted for an estimated 4.2 million people globally.
- Diabetic retinopathy accounted for an estimated 3 million people globally.
- Trachoma accounted for an estimated 2 million people globally.
These are cause-specific estimates and should not be added to the 2.2 billion total because individuals may have multiple conditions (World report on vision).
Near vision is also a major category. WHO estimated 1.8 billion people had near vision impairment caused by presbyopia in 2015, including addressed and unaddressed cases (World report on vision).
Causes and Forms of Vision Loss Data
Myopia is one of the largest measured forms of refractive error. A WHO figure estimated 2.6 billion people of all ages had myopia globally in 2020, with an uncertainty interval of 1.97–3.43 billion; the report also estimated 312 million people under age 19 had myopia in 2015 (World report on vision).
Other global estimates describe the scale of chronic eye conditions:
| Condition | Population estimate | Period and geography |
|---|---|---|
| Glaucoma | 76 million | 2020, global |
| Age-related macular degeneration | 196 million | 2020, global |
| Diabetic retinopathy | 146 million | 2014, global |
| Presbyopia | 1.8 billion | 2015, global |
Source: World report on vision. These estimates use different periods and definitions.
Pterygium illustrates why study context matters. The WHO review reported prevalence ranging from 2.8% in an urban Australian area to 33% in rural China, based on underlying studies published in 2000 and 2002; these study-specific estimates are not nationally representative (World report on vision).
Geographic and Demographic Vision Impairment Disparities
WHO estimates distance vision impairment prevalence in low- and middle-income regions at four times the level in high-income regions. The organization also estimated that 90% of people with unaddressed vision impairment or blindness live in low- and middle-income countries (Blindness and vision impairment; Increasing eye care interventions to address vision impairment).
Near-vision access shows a similarly wide regional gap:
| Measure | Region | Estimate and period |
|---|---|---|
| Unaddressed near vision impairment | Western, eastern and central sub-Saharan Africa | Over 80%, global estimate published 2026 |
| Unaddressed near vision impairment | High-income North America, Australasia, western Europe and Asia-Pacific | Below 10%, global estimate published 2026 |
| Overall myopia prevalence | High-income Asia-Pacific | 53.4%, regional comparison cited by WHO |
| Overall myopia prevalence | East Asia | 51.6%, regional comparison cited by WHO |
Sources: Blindness and vision impairment and World report on vision. The myopia figures are regional comparisons, not a single common survey year.
Country studies cited by WHO reported myopia prevalence as high as 67% among adolescents in urban China and 97% among adolescents in urban South Korea. These urban and country estimates are not global prevalence estimates (World report on vision).
The same WHO report cited glaucoma prevalence estimates of 4.8% in Africa and 4.5% in Latin America and the Caribbean. The figures are regional estimates from the report’s cited comparison, not a direct measure of every country (World report on vision).
Vision Impairment Trends and 2030 Projections
WHO’s cited myopia series is a model-based forecast, not an observed count. It placed global myopia at 1.406 billion people in 2000, 1.950 billion in 2010, 2.620 billion in 2020 and 3.361 billion in 2030 (World report on vision).
| Year | Global myopia forecast | High-myopia forecast |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.406 billion | 163 million |
| 2010 | 1.950 billion | 277 million |
| 2020 | 2.620 billion | 399 million |
| 2030 | 3.361 billion | 516.7 million; uncertainty interval 298–1,082 million |
Source: World report on vision. Every value in this table belongs to the WHO-cited forecast series and should not be read as an observed census.
Other projections connect future eye-care demand with disease and population aging. Global diabetic retinopathy was estimated at 146 million people in 2014 and forecast at 180.6 million in 2030 if trends continue; glaucoma was estimated at 76 million in 2020 and forecast at 95.4 million in 2030 (World report on vision).
Age-related macular degeneration was estimated at 195.6 million people globally in 2020 and forecast at 243.3 million in 2030. The global population aged 60 and older was projected to rise from 962 million in 2017 to 1.4 billion in 2030, while the population over 80 was projected to rise from 137 million to 202 million over the same years (World report on vision).
Access, Treatment and Participation Measures
Access gaps help explain why preventable or addressable impairment remains widespread. In the global estimate published in 2026, two out of three people in low-income countries who needed eyeglasses were estimated not to have access, while one in two people globally who needed cataract surgery were estimated not to have access (Blindness and vision impairment).
Distance and financing can also shape access. About 50% of people in low- and middle-income countries lived more than one hour from a city, compared with 10% in high-income countries, in evidence cited by WHO as an access barrier (World report on vision).
Country and program examples show why local measures need careful interpretation:
- In a Trinidad and Tobago health-system review, private-sector optometrists and ophthalmologists provided 80% of all eye care; less than 20% of adults reportedly had health insurance covering private-sector eye care.
- Among about 6,000 Baltimore children whose parents permitted follow-up eye examinations, approximately 80% were prescribed spectacles.
Both observations come from the underlying reviews cited in the WHO report. The Trinidad and Tobago figure is a single-country health-system review, and the Baltimore result is a follow-up subgroup limited by parental permission (World report on vision).
Economic Burden and Health Outcomes of Vision Impairment
WHO estimates annual global productivity losses associated with vision impairment at about US$411 billion in purchasing-power-parity terms. A 2023 WHO technical brief estimated the global cost of addressing the unmet need for vision impairment at US$24.8 billion (Blindness and vision impairment; Increasing eye care interventions to address vision impairment).
The 2019 WHO report estimated the additional global cost of addressing the backlog of unaddressed refractive error and cataract at US$14.3 billion: US$7.4 billion for refractive error and US$6.9 billion for cataract surgery. That backlog estimate excludes future cases and ongoing care for already met needs (World report on vision).
Other reported economic estimates include US$244 billion in annual global productivity loss from uncorrected myopia and US$25.4 billion from uncorrected presbyopia. WHO also estimated that preventing moderate or severe impairment from glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and trachoma would cost US$5.8 billion for 11.9 million people, excluding corneal-opacity prevention costs (World report on vision).
U.S. measures use different questions and definitions and are not interchangeable with the global WHO estimates. In the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 23,545 adults reported vision impairment and weighted prevalence was 5.3% (95% CI 5.1%–5.4%); self-reported vision impairment was also associated with lower reported access on several measures (Health Care Access and Use Among Adults With and Without Vision Impairment: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2018).
| 2018 U.S. BRFSS measure | Adults with vision impairment | Adults without vision impairment |
|---|---|---|
| Health insurance coverage | 80.6% | 87.6% |
| Usual health-care provider | 71.9% | 75.7% |
| Cost as reason for unmet health-care need | 29.2% | 12.6% |
| Routine checkup in prior year | 75.6% | 75.2% |
| Dental visit in prior year | 52.9% | 67.2% |
Source: Health Care Access and Use Among Adults With and Without Vision Impairment: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2018. These are weighted survey comparisons based on self-reported vision impairment.
Age-specific U.S. measures also vary by instrument. In the 2016 American Community Survey, reported blindness prevalence was 0.8% for ages 0–17, 1.2% for ages 18–39, 2.8% for ages 40–64, 5.6% for ages 65–84 and 16.6% for ages 85+; the measure covered self-reported blindness or serious difficulty seeing even with glasses (Vision Impairment and Blindness Prevalence in the United States).
The 2016 BRFSS reported blindness prevalence of 2.6% for ages 18–39, 5.6% for ages 40–64 and 6.7% for ages 65–84. In older examination data from the 2005–2008 NHANES, presenting blindness prevalence was 0.3% for ages 18–39, 0.8% for ages 40–64 and 5.4% for ages 85+; these measures use a different definition and are older (Vision Impairment and Blindness Prevalence in the United States).
Functional effects were reported in the 2016 National Health Interview Survey: 7.2% of adults aged 85+ said they were unable to do work or hobbies requiring near vision because of eyesight, and 8.8% said they were unable to read ordinary newspaper print because of eyesight. Both are self-reported functional limitations (Vision Impairment and Blindness Prevalence in the United States).