Magnitude of sight loss

Discover how sight loss affects over a billion people worldwide—and why the number is still rising. Best viewed on desktop — scroll slowly to explore the full data story.

Share on LinkedIn Back to top

Bourne, R., Steinmetz, J. D., Flaxman, S., Briant, P. S., Taylor, H. R., Resnikoff, S., … & Tareque, M. I. (2021). Trends in prevalence of blindness and distance and near vision impairment over 30 years: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. The Lancet global health, 9(2), e130-e143.

Bourne, Rupert RA, et al. “Causes of vision loss worldwide, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis.” The Lancet Global Health 1.6 (2013): e339-e349.

Burton et al., “Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health: Vision Beyond 2020,” The Lancet Global Health, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. e489–e551, 2021.

Reddy PA, Congdon N, MacKenzie G, et al. Effect of providing near glasses on productivity among rural Indian tea workers with presbyopia (PROSPER): a randomised trial. Lancet Glob Health 2018; 6(9): e1019-e27.

Magrabi Foundation

Explore topics

The Value of Vision
Interactive data story

The Value of Vision

Investing $7 billion in eye health across low- and middle-income countries could return $199 billion in economic benefits — making it one of the best buys in global health.
Effective cataract surgical coverage
Interactive data story

Effective cataract surgical coverage

Cataract surgery is fast, straightforward, and inexpensive. However for millions around the world, it remains out of reach.
Tracking 2030 In Sight Progress (2025 Report)
Interactive data story

Tracking 2030 In Sight Progress (2025 Report)

Progress against the 2030 In Sight Strategy — 2025 update.

Featured news

Free reading glasses boost productivity among Indian garment workers

A $10 pair of glasses delivers a 337% return on investment among presbyopic garment workers in India, a randomized trial finds.
Written by
Mayinuer Yusufu

Global eye care workforce 2023 estimates released 

Ophthalmologist density ranged from 76 per million in high-income countries to 4 per million in low-income countries; seven sub-Saharan African countries reported fewer than one per million.
Written by
Mayinuer Yusufu

Glaucoma burden in Europe projected to exceed 13 million by 2050

An estimated 12.3 million people in Europe have glaucoma — over half undiagnosed — with cases projected to exceed 13.5 million by 2050.
Written by
Mayinuer Yusufu

View sight loss data by countries

Explore and understand how sight loss affects different parts of the world and the impact that it has.
View by country
Two young boys wearing decorated heart-shaped glasses laughing and hugging during an eye health event.