Market size
Refractive error is highly and increasingly prevalent in LMICs. Reliable population- based data are scarce and the current
global estimates are based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses:
- Myopia is the most common form of refractive error, usually developing in childhood and adolescence. The 2019 World Report
on Vision reported 2.6 billon people of all ages with myopia in 2020 (34 per cent of the global population uncertainty interval
1.97–3.43 billion), which is based on a 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis by Holden et al. The authors also report regional differences,
with the highest prevalence in Asia, where rates can be up to 90 per cent among young adults. ,
- Presbyopia affects 1.8 billion people worldwide according to the same WHO report based on a systematic review and meta-analysis
by Fricke et al in 2016.
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However, globally, it is estimated that only 36 per cent of people with a distance vision impairment due to refractive error
have received access to an appropriate pair of spectacles. Approximately 90 per cent of people with unaddressed vision impairment or blindness live in LMICs. But the coverage of essential eye care interventions in LICs is up to six times lower than that in HICs.
- Distance vision loss in many LMICs is estimated to be four times more prevalent than in HICs.
- East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia account for 62 per cent of the moderate and severe distance vision impairment cases (while representing 51 per cent of the world’s population).
- Rates of unaddressed near vision impairment are greater than 80 per cent in West Africa, East Africa, and central sub-Saharan
Africa, while comparative rates in many high-income regions are lower than 10 per cent.
- India and China account for approximately 50 per cent of global vision impairment and blindness due to uncorrected RE. , ,
The global prescription frames and sunglasses retail market is valued at approximately 54 billion dollars in 2021 with prescription frames accounting for 61 per cent. The global lenses market is valued at 50 to 60 billion dollars
in 2023. , Across all segments of eyewear, the market is focused on high-value segments. These segments
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typically target affluent, predominantly urban populations with a preference for more expensive prescription glasses.