Visual impairment in figures

‍

In France:

  • 1.7 million people are affected by a vision disorder.
  • 207,000 are blind.
  • 932,000 are moderately visually impaired.

In the world:

  • 253 million people have a visual impairment.
  • Of these, 36 million are blind and 217 million have moderate to severe visual impairment.
  • 81% of people who are blind or have low vision are aged 50 and over.
  • More than 80% of visual disabilities are preventable or curable.
  • According to the WHO, the number of visually impaired people could double by 2050.

Education and Employment:

  • Nearly 10,000 blind people attend school every year in France, as well as 35,000 people with amblyopia.
  • Currently, 50% of people with visual disabilities are unemployed.
  • Approximately 80% of people use a computer as their primary computing tool for browsing the web.

Technologies and Accessibility:

  • Only 10% of websites are accessible to blind and partially sighted people.
  • Only 6% of books are suitable for their use.
  • Out of 500 movies released in theaters each year, only 100 are audio-described.
  • Only 4% of TV shows are audio-described.

Visual impairment represents a major challenge both nationally and internationally, requiring concerted action to improve access to education, employment, new technologies and culture for blind and visually impaired people.

‍