Globally, 1.1 billion people were living with vision loss in 2020
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- 43 million people are blind (crude prevalence 0.5%)
- 295 million people have moderate to severe visual impairment (crude prevalence 3.7%)
- 258 million people have mild visual impairment (crude prevalence 3.3%)
- 510 million people have near vision problems (crude prevalence 6.5%)
Breakdown of vision loss chart
You can explore these data on Global vision loss predicted by the VLEG/GBD 2020 model in different ways, including:
Measure: Crude or age standardised prevalence or numbers affects
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If distributing/publishing this model’s data, it is obligatory to use the following reference:
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Bourne R, Steinmetz J, Flaxman S, et al., Trends in prevalence of blindness and distance and near vision impairment over 30 years: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet Glob Health. 2020. Accessed via the IAPB Vision Atlas (https://www.iapb.org/learn/vision-atlas)