Table 3. Prevalence of blindness and visual impairment (WHO criteria) with best correction in population-based studies from various countries.
| Country |
Study population |
Year(s) of survey | Age group |
Prevalence of visual impairment/ blindness |
Remarks | Reference |
| Japan | 3870 | 2000–2001 | 40+ | 0.39/0.14 | (24) | |
| Canada | 962 | 2001 | 0+ | 0.36/0.04 | *1 | (25) |
| USA | 4582 | 2010–2013 | 50+ | 3.00/0.07 | *2 | (26) |
| Netherlands | 6775 | 1990–1993 | 55+ | 1.42/0.47 | *3 | (27) |
| China | 4438 | 2001 | 40+ | 1.00/0.40 | (28) | |
| Singapore | 3280 | 2004–2006 | 40–79 | 4.40/0.30 | *2 | (29) |
| Germany (Gutenberg Health Study) | 14 687 | 2007–2012 | 35–74 | 0.37/0.05 |
*1 The probands were recruited from patients attending for ophthalmological consultation
*2 Visual impairment also included uncorrected refractive errors, which made up around 50% of the cases
*3 Some of the probands were recruited in senior citizens’ homes