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Statistics on Vision Impairment: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How many people worldwide have a vision impairment?

  • The World Health Organization estimates 161 million people worldwide have a visual impairment. Of these, 37 million are blind and 124 million have low vision (World Health Organization, 2000).

How many people of all ages have a vision impairment?

  • National estimates for the overall prevalence of vision impairment vary, depending upon the definition utilized.

  • An estimated 7.9 million persons age 15 and older (3.5%) have difficulty seeing words and letters in ordinary newspaper print, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses (Steinmetz, 2006).

  • Approximately 19 million persons age 18 and older (8.8%) report having any trouble seeing even when wearing glasses or contact lenses (Lethbridge-Cejku, Rose, and Vickerie, 2006).

How many middle aged and older adults report some form of vision problem?

  • One in six Americans (17%), 45 years of age or older, representing 16.5 million middle-aged and older adults, report some form of vision impairment even when wearing glasses or contact lenses (The Lighthouse Inc., 1995).

  • The prevalence of self-reported vision impairment increases with age. The following report some form of vision impairment:
    15% (9.3 million) Americans ages 45-64 years; 17% (3.1 million) ages 65-74 years and 26% (4.3 million) age 75 years and older (The Lighthouse Inc., 1995).

  • Among persons age 65 and older, 21% report some form of vision impairment (The Lighthouse Inc., 1995). Based on 2000 population estimates, this represents 7.3 million persons.

  • The vast majority of middle-aged and older Americans who report vision impairment are partially sighted rather than totally blind. Only 2% of all Americans age 45 and older report that they are blind in both eyes (The Lighthouse Inc., 1995).

"What is the prevalence of vision impairment among persons age 18 - 45?"

  • Nationally, 5.1% of persons age 18 to 44 (5.6 million) report having any trouble seeing even when wearing glasses or contact lenses (Lethbridge-Cejku, Rose, and Vickerie, 2006)

How many children in the U.S. have a vision impairment?

  • Based on data from the 1996 National Health Interview Survey, less than 1% (0.6%) of persons under the age of 18 are visually impaired, defined as blindness in one or both eyes, or any other trouble seeing even when wearing glasses, representing 448,000 children and youths (Adams, Hendershot, & Marano, 1999).

  • Based on data from the 2002 Survey of Income and Program Participation, 189,000 children 6-14 years of age (0.5%) have difficulty seeing words and letter in ordinary newspaper print even when wearing glasses or contact lenses (Steinmetz, 2006).

How many people in the U.S. have a severe vision impairment?

  • An estimated 1.8 million persons age 15 and older (0.8%) have a severe vision impairment, defined as an inability to see words and letters in ordinary newspaper print even when wearing glasses or contact lenses (Steinmetz, 2006).)

  • Based on data collected from The Lighthouse National Survey, 8.7 million (9%) Americans age 45 and older report a severe vision impairment, defined as an inability to recognize a friend at arm's length even when wearing glasses or contact lenses, or cannot read ordinary newspaper print even when wearing glasses or contact lenses, or report poor or very poor vision even when wearing glasses or contact lenses, or are blind in both eyes (The Lighthouse Inc., 1995).

How many people potentially have low vision?

  • More than 3 million Americans have low vision (National Advisory Eye Council, 1998).

  • It is also estimated that approximately 12 million people have some form of vision impairment that cannot be corrected by glasses (National Advisory Eye Council, 1998).

How many people in the U.S. are legally blind?

  • Data collected from the National Health Interview Survey on Disability (1994-95) indicate that approximately 1.3 million persons reported legal blindness (0.5%) (American Foundation for the Blind, 2007).

How many people in the U.S. have light perception or less?

  • An estimated 20% of legally blind individuals have clinically measured light perception or less, representing an estimated 260,000 individuals (American Foundation for the Blind, 2004).

What is the employment status of persons who have a visual impairment?

  • Nationally, among persons age 21 to 64 who are visually impaired, defined as any difficulty or inability to see words and letters even when wearing glasses or contact lenses, 55.3% are employed; among individuals unable to see words and letters, this figure decreases to 48% (Steinmetz, 2006). This proportion is significantly lower than the approximately 88.2% of persons without any disability in this age group who are employed.

What are the leading causes of blindness in the U.S.?

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