Global prevalence of myopia Myopia and high myopia were estimated to affect 27% (1893 million) and 2.8% (170 million) of the world population, respectively, in 2010. According to published studies, the prevalence of myopia is highest in east Asia, where China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore have a prevalence of approximately 50%, and lower in Australia, Europe and north and south America (2). Preliminary projections based on these prevalence data and the corresponding United Nations population figures (12), and accounting for the effects of age and time, indicate that myopia and high myopia will affect 52% (4949 million) and 10.0% (925 million), respectively, of the world’s population by 2050 (2) (Figs. 1 and 2). Fig. 1. Numbers of cases (blue) and prevalence (red) of myopia worldwide between 2000 and 2050 Results: Myopia - Now and in 2050 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Myopia prevalence (%) 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 Numbers of myopes (Millions) 2000 22% 2