Global access to eye glasses is at 65.8%—barely up since 2010 and far below WHO’s 2030 goal.
A new study led by Professor Rupert Bourne of Anglia Ruskin University has revealed a startling truth: despite advances in healthcare, basic access to glasses—one of the simplest, most cost-effective tools for clear sight—remains out of reach for far too many.
The numbers behind the blur
Published in The Lancet Global Health1, the study shines a light on just how many people are being left behind when it comes to correcting their vision. The numbers come from an impressive dataset: over 815,000 people across 76 countries. The takeaway? Global refractive error correction, known as eREC, is currently sitting at just 65.8%. That’s only a modest improvement—up by six percentage points—since 2010.
The research breaks down the data by global regions, and the disparities are stark. In high-income regions like North America and Western Europe, around 85% of men and 83% of women have access to the glasses they need. But in Sub-Saharan Africa, the picture is very different: just 30% of men and 27% of women can say the same. For those living in low-income countries, women and older adults, the burden of uncorrected vision is especially heavy.
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Falling short of global goals
The situation becomes even more pressing when viewed against the World Health Organization’s targets.2 In 2021, the WHO set an ambitious goal: to see a 40 percentage point increase in eREC by 2030. But the study’s findings make it clear that unless global efforts ramp up significantly, this goal is unlikely to be achieved.
There are glimmers of hope, though. Some countries have taken innovative steps to tackle the problem. France, for example, introduced full reimbursement for glasses under universal health insurance in 2021/22, ensuring that the cost of spectacles isn’t a barrier. In Pakistan, a series of national eye-care plans rolled out over the past two decades has improved spectacle use and cut down on vision impairment caused by uncorrected refractive error.
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Yet even with these positive examples, the overall trend shows that the world isn’t keeping pace. According to Prof. Bourne, “Correction of refractive error is the safest, most efficient and most economical intervention to improve daily vision quality for the majority of individuals affected by vision impairment worldwide.” He emphasizes that correcting vision doesn’t just help people see better—it has wide-reaching benefits: it reduces poverty, boosts education, improves work productivity and promotes equity.
The call for urgent action
Prof. Bourne and the Vision Loss Expert Group, the global network of researchers behind the study, are urging for urgent action. Without it, the world risks falling further behind on a problem that, in many ways, has a simple solution: access to basic eye care and a pair of glasses.
READ MORE: Providing Crucial Eye Care to Underserved Populations
The study does point to a 50% improvement in the number of people receiving the correct prescription for eyeglasses between 2000 and 2023. But there’s a catch: the overall need for glasses is rising too. Why? A mix of lifestyle factors, from more screen time to less outdoor play in childhood, are contributing to a growing global burden of vision problems.
For now, the message is clear: millions still wait for something as simple as a pair of glasses, and the world has a lot of work to do to meet the WHO’s 2030 target. Without focused global efforts, that 40% increase in coverage may remain a distant dream, leaving too many in the blur.
Editor’s note: See the press release from the Anglia Ruskin University (ARU).
References
- Bourne RRA, Cicinelli MV, Selby DA, et al; Vision Loss Expert Group of the Global Burden of Disease Study; RAAB International Co-Author Group. Effective refractive error coverage in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of updated estimates from population-based surveys in 76 countries modelling the path towards the 2030 global target. Lancet Glob Health. 2025:S2214-109X(25)00194-9. [Epub ahead of print.]
- World Health Organization. Launch of the WHO SPECS 2030 initiative, including the inaugural meeting of the Global SPECS Network. Published on May 14-15, 2024. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2024/05/14/default-calendar/launch-of-the-who-specs-2030-initiative–including-the-inaugural-meeting-of-the-global-specs-network Accessed on May 26, 2025.
