Epidemiology & Technology

Global Estimates of Blindness and Visual Impairments

Data from various global estiamates are summarized here for easy reference:

Link to my personal google sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iTgBmRA4VwWE1fzRKA1YD1fzzMvn90Vu/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113111648583609130450&rtpof=true&sd=true

Pascolini, 2010

NUMBERS (millions)WorldIndia
Population6737.901181.40
Visual Impairment ( PVA < 6\18)285.3962.62
Blindness (PVA < 3\60)39.378.08
Low Vision (< 6\18-3\60)246.0254.54
PREVALENCE (1000 per million population)WorldIndia
Visual Impairment ( PVA < 6\18)42.3653.00
Blindness (PVA < 3\60)5.846.84
Low Vision (< 6\18-3\60)36.5146.17
20102010
GLOBALGLOBAL
Blindness PVA < 3\60VI incl blindness (PVA <6\18)
Cataract51%33%
Refractive Errors (uncorrected)3%42%
Glaucoma8%2%
Corneal Opacity4%1%
Trachoma3%1%
Childhood Blindness4%1%
AMD5%1%
Diabetic Retinopathy1%1%
Other causes21%18%
Avoidable62%78%

Number of people visually impaired and corresponding percentage of the global impairment by WHO Region and country, 2010

RegionPopulationBlindness (mill, %)Low Vision (mill, %)Visual Impairment (mill, %)
World6737.5 (100)39.365 (100)246.024 (100)285.389 (100)
India1181.4 (17.5)8.075 (20.5)54.544 (22.2)62.619 (21.9)
Afr804.9 (11.9)5.888 (15)20.407 (8.3)26.295 (9.2)
Amr915.4 (13.6)3.211(8)23.401 (9.5)26.612 (9.3)
Emr580.2 (8.6)4.918 (12.5)18.581 (7.6)23.499 (8.2)
Eur889.2 (13.2)2.713 (7)25.502 (10.4)28.215 (9.9)
Sear (India excluded)579.1 (8.6)3.974 (10.1)23.938 (9.7)27.913 (9.8)
Wpr (China excluded)442.3 (6.6)2.338 (6)12.386 (5)14.724 (5.2)
China1344.9 (20)8.248 (20.9)67.264 (27.3)75.512 (26.5)
World Health Organization. GLOBAL DATA ON VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS 2010 – Pascolini [Internet]. World Health Organization; 2012 [cited 2016 Apr 7]. Available from: http://www.iapb.org/sites/iapb.org/files/GLOBALDATAFINALforweb.pdf

Number of people visually impaired and corresponding percentage of the global impairment byAge, 2010

Age GroupPopulationBlindness (mill)Low Vision (mill)Visual Impairment (mill)
0-141,848.501.42117.51818.939
15-493548.25.78474.46380.248
50 and older1,340.8032.16154.043186.2
Total6,737.5039.37246.02285.39

% of people visually impaired and corresponding percentage of the global impairment byAge, 2010

Age GroupPopulationBlindness (mill)Low Vision (mill)Visual Impairment (mill)
0-1427%4%7%7%
15-4953%15%30%28%
50 and older20%82%63%65%
Total100%100%100%100%

GBD 2013

Bourne et al. Lancet Glob Health 2013;1: e339–49

CauseBlindnessModerate – Severe Visual Impairment
Asia, southWorldwideAsia, southWorldwide
19902010199020101990201019902010
Cataract47·7%41·7%38·6%33·4%26·7%21·4%25·6%18·4%
Uncorrected refractive error35·4%36·0%19·9%20·9%63·9%65·4%51·1%52·9%
Macular degeneration1·4%2·6%4·9%6·6%0·45%1·0%1·9%3·1%
Glaucoma2·4%4·7%4·4%6·6%0·66%1·6%1·2%2·2%
Diabetic retinopathy1·9%2·8%2·1%2·6%1·2%2·1%1·3%1·9%
Trachoma0·25%0·15%2·8%1·4%0·13%0·08%1·3%0·71%
Other causes/ unidentified10·9%12·1%27·4%28·6%7·0%8·6%17·6%20·8%

Lancet 2017: Bourne et al and Flaxman et al papers – VLEG for year 2015

Key Results

Reported on Crude prevalence in all ages, age-standardied prevalence in 50+ population

  • Blind: 36 million (0.49% crude prevalence )
    • 31 million (86%) aged 50+yrs
    • 56% female
    • 11.7 million in south Asia
  • MSVI: 216.6 Million (2.95% crude prevalence)
    • 172.3 million (80%) aged 50+yrs
    • 55% female
    • 61.2 million in south Asia
  • Mild VI: 188.5 million (2.57% crude prevalence)
    • 140.3 million (74%) age 50+
    • 54% Female
  • Functional Prebyopia: 1094 million (35.6% crude prevalence) aged 35+ years

Crude Prevalence of blindness and moderate and severe vision impairment (%) in Year 2015

MillionBlind (millions)MSVI (millions)EVI/Mild VI (Millions)
Men0–49 years2.521.723.6
50–69 years5.741.639.7
≥70 years7.734.523.9
All Ages15.997.887.1
Women0–49 years2.622.724.6
50–69 years6.547.544.4
≥70 years11.148.732.5
All Ages20.1118.9101.4
Both SexAll Ages36.0216.6188.6
Million and Crude PrevalenceBlindMSVIMild VI
Men0–49 years2.46 (0.08)21.66 (0.74)23.61 (0.81)
50–69 years5.69 (0.93)41.57 (6.78)39.65 (6.46)
≥70 years7.72 (4.55)34.53 (20.33)23.85 (14.05)
Women0–49 years2.56 (0.09)22.68 (0.82)24.64 (0.89)
50–69 years6.52 (1.03)47.46 (7.48)44.35 (6.99)
≥70 years11.06 (4.97)48.71 (21.87)32.45 (14.57)

Age Standardized PrevalenceWorldIndia
BlindMSVIBlindMSVI
All Ages
Male0.46 (0.17 – 0.84)2.79 (1.29 – 4.61)0.88 (0.32 – 1.60)4.41 (2.23 – 7.00)
Female0.49 (0.17 – 0.90)2.99 (1.33 – 4.99)0.97 (0.33 – 1.80)4.85 (2.38 – 7.73)
Both Sexes0.48 (0.17 – 0.87)2.90 (1.31 – 4.80)0.93 (0.32 – 1.70)4.63 (2.31 – 7.37)
50+ yr Age Group
Male1.82 (0.67 – 3.28)10.12 (4.85 – 16.45)3.58 (1.30 – 6.50)16.33 (8.59 – 25.45)
Female1.91 (0.68 – 3.49)10.79 (5.00 – 17.74)3.94 (1.36 – 7.31)17.88 (9.17 – 27.88)
Both Sexes1.87 (0.67 – 3.39)10.47 (4.93 – 17.13)3.77 (1.33 – 6.92)17.12 (8.89 – 26.69)

Percentage of Blindness & MSVI by cause in 50+ Age Group in South Asia and globally in 2015

50+ Age Group
BLINDNESS in 50+World, Blindness, 50+ yrsSouth Asia, Blindness, 50+ yrs
Uncorrected refractive error20.28%35.54%
Cataract35.15%38.79%
Glaucoma8.49%5.93%
Age-related macular degeneration5.93%3.10%
Diabetic retinopathy1.06%0.10%
Corneal opacity3.21%3.91%
Trachoma0.97%0.20%
Other24.92%12.42%
MSVI in 50+World, MSVI, 50+ yrsSouth Asia, MSVI, 50+ yrs
Uncorrected refractive error50.80%52.34%
Cataract26.62%25.15%
Glaucoma2.14%2.05%
Age-related macular degeneration5.97%4.38%
Diabetic retinopathy1.03%1.30%
Corneal opacity1.75%1.14%
Trachoma1.99%0.64%
Other9.71%13.00%

Percentage of Blindness & MSVI by cause in All Age Groups in 2015 (Flaxman 2017)

Blindness in All AgesWorld, Blindness, all agesSouth Asia, Blindness, all ages
Uncorrected refractive error20.6%36.8%
Cataract34.5%35.2%
Glaucoma8.3%5.7%
Age-related macular degeneration5.6%2.4%
Diabetic retinopathy1.1%0.2%
Corneal opacity3.5%2.6%
Trachoma1.0%0.0%
Other25.5%16.7%
MSVI in All AgesWorld, MSVI, all agesSouth Asia, MSVI, all ages
Uncorrected refractive error53.7%67.9%
Cataract24.1%22.4%
Glaucoma1.9%1.1%
Age-related macular degeneration4.0%1.3%
Diabetic retinopathy1.3%0.2%
Corneal opacity1.3%0.9%
Trachoma0.6%0.0%
Other13.2%7.2%

Contribution of each cause to blindness among adults aged 50 years and older in 2015

2015Uncorrected refractive errorCataractGlaucomaAge-related macular degenerationDiabetic retinopathyCorneal opacityTrachomaOther
High-income Asia Pacific13.1%20.3%13.5%16.7%3.9%2.4%0.0%30.1%
Central Asia12.9%25.9%14.2%14.0%3.6%3.6%0.0%25.9%
East Asia12.9%43.6%7.1%5.3%0.5%4.3%1.8%24.6%
South Asia36.4%36.6%5.8%2.4%0.2%2.4%0.0%16.1%
Southeast Asia12.6%45.0%7.0%5.2%0.6%4.4%0.1%25.1%
Australasia13.1%19.7%13.5%16.5%4.5%2.4%0.0%30.4%
Caribbean12.6%25.7%9.6%5.6%0.8%1.7%0.0%44.0%
Central Europe13.0%25.4%14.1%15.9%3.1%3.6%0.0%24.9%
Eastern Europe13.0%20.9%14.3%19.5%4.9%3.4%0.0%23.9%
Western Europe13.1%21.4%13.5%15.4%3.3%2.4%0.0%30.8%
Andean Latin America12.6%27.5%9.4%3.8%0.4%1.6%0.0%44.7%
Central Latin America12.7%24.0%10.0%6.2%1.0%1.6%0.0%44.6%
Southern Latin America13.0%21.7%13.6%14.3%3.5%2.4%0.0%31.5%
Tropical Latin America12.9%21.9%10.5%7.4%1.3%1.5%0.0%44.5%
North Africa and Middle East12.3%28.1%6.9%3.2%1.4%4.5%2.6%41.0%
High-income North America13.1%20.1%13.5%15.9%4.3%2.4%0.0%30.8%
Oceania12.6%47.3%6.7%3.1%0.3%4.2%0.0%25.8%
Central sub-Saharan Africa12.7%43.6%14.1%5.2%0.5%4.0%0.3%19.6%
East sub-Saharan Africa12.2%44.7%11.7%3.2%0.2%3.8%7.0%17.3%
Southern sub-Saharan Africa12.4%35.2%15.5%11.8%1.6%4.1%0.5%19.1%
West sub-Saharan Africa12.4%43.6%13.3%4.0%0.4%3.9%3.4%19.2%
World20.3%35.2%8.5%5.9%1.1%3.2%1.0%24.9%

Contribution of each cause to MSVI among adults aged 50 years and older in 2015

2015Uncorrected refractive errorCataractGlaucomaAge-related macular degenerationDiabetic retinopathyCorneal opacityTrachomaOther
High-income Asia Pacific49.4%14.7%3.6%11.6%4.1%0.8%0.0%15.9%
Central Asia48.3%18.1%4.1%10.1%4.1%1.4%0.0%14.1%
East Asia47.1%32.5%1.6%3.4%0.6%1.5%1.3%12.0%
South Asia66.4%23.6%1.1%1.3%0.2%0.7%0.0%6.7%
Southeast Asia46.1%34.0%1.6%3.5%0.7%1.6%0.1%12.5%
Australasia49.3%14.1%3.6%11.4%4.7%0.8%0.0%16.2%
Caribbean47.9%18.1%2.3%3.8%0.9%0.5%0.0%26.6%
Central Europe49.4%18.2%4.0%10.9%3.1%1.4%0.0%13.1%
Eastern Europe48.5%14.8%4.1%13.4%5.1%1.3%0.0%12.7%
Western Europe49.6%15.5%3.6%10.7%3.5%0.8%0.0%16.4%
Andean Latin America46.1%20.2%2.2%2.4%0.4%0.5%0.0%28.1%
Central Latin America47.9%17.0%2.3%4.0%1.0%0.5%0.0%27.2%
Southern Latin America48.2%16.0%3.7%10.1%3.9%0.8%0.0%17.3%
Tropical Latin America49.3%15.3%2.4%4.7%1.4%0.5%0.0%26.5%
North Africa and Middle East44.6%21.4%1.6%2.2%1.6%1.7%1.9%25.1%
High-income North America49.5%14.4%3.6%10.9%4.6%0.8%0.0%16.3%
Oceania47.8%34.6%1.4%2.1%0.3%1.6%0.0%12.3%
Central sub-Saharan Africa46.5%34.4%3.6%3.4%0.5%1.6%0.2%9.8%
East sub-Saharan Africa46.8%32.4%2.9%2.4%0.3%1.4%5.8%8.2%
Southern sub-Saharan Africa48.1%26.9%4.1%8.0%1.8%1.5%0.3%9.3%
West sub-Saharan Africa46.4%34.1%3.3%2.5%0.4%1.5%2.5%9.4%
World52.3%25.2%2.1%4.4%1.3%1.1%0.6%13.0%

GBD 2020

Bourne et al 2022

Key Results

Reported on Crude prevalence in all ages, age-standardied prevalence in 50+ population in 2020

  • Blind: 43.3 million (0.55% crude prevalence, 0.525 % age Std Prevalence )
    • 33.6 million / 78% in 50+yr aged population
    • 55% female
    • 11.9 million in south Asia, 0.895% Age Std Prevalence
  • MSVI: 295 Million (3.74% crude prevalence, 3.58% Age Std Prevalence )
    • 206 million / 70% in 50+yr aged population
    • 55% female
    • 96.2 million in south Asia, 6.44% Age Std prevalence
    • 260 million MVI, 34.8 million SVI
  • Mild VI: 258 million (3.27% crude prevalence, 3.2% Age Std Prevalence)
    • 143 million / 55% in 50+yr aged population
    • 55% Female
    • 60.1 million in south Asia, 3.83% Age Std prevalence
  • Uncorrected Prebyopia: 510 million (6.46% crude prevalence 5.97% Age Std prevalence)
    • 419 million / 82.2% in 50+yr aged population
    • Crude prevalence 22.1% in 50+ population
    • 55% Female
    • 167 million in south Asia, 11.0% Age Std prevalence

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