Blindness and vision impairment 10 August 2023 Key facts Globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment. In at least 1 billion of these, vision impairment could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed. The leading causes of vision impairment and blindness at a global level are refractive errors and cataracts. It is estimated that globally only 36% of people with a distance vision impairment due to refractive error and only 17% of people with vision impairment due to cataract have received access to an appropriate intervention. Vision impairment poses an enormous global financial burden, with the annual global cost of productivity estimated to be US$ 411 billion. Vision loss can affect people of all ages; however, most people with vision impairment and blindness are over the age of 50 years.