skip navigation

S M L Text size

Myopia

Myopia Defined

Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a common type of refractive error where close objects appear clearly, but distant objects appear blurry. Cases of refractive error include myopia of 1.0 diopters or more.

Read More about Myopia.

On this page:


2010 U.S. Age-Specific Prevalence Rates for Myopia by Age, and Race/Ethnicity

2010 U.S. age-specific prevalence rates for Myopia by age, gender, and race/ethnicity

Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 40.53% 20.04% 23.01% 28.44% 34.52%
50-54 28.33% 14.70% 16.84% 20.06% 24.93%
55-59 22.99% 12.21% 14.53% 16.76% 20.63%
60-64 19.44% 10.40% 13.12% 14.62% 17.75%
65-69 17.28% 9.12% 12.44% 13.34% 15.95%
70-74 16.23% 8.42% 12.44% 12.82% 15.06%
75-79 16.13% 8.31% 13.19% 12.99% 15.13%
80+ 18.37% 10.25% 17.07% 15.13% 17.60%
TOTAL 26.38% 14.51% 18.28% 20.65% 23.92%
Female/Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 45.09% 18.18% 25.12% 29.16% 37.52%
50-54 30.50% 13.26% 17.00% 20.55% 26.24%
55-59 23.98% 11.42% 14.27% 17.19% 21.18%
60-64 19.62% 10.34% 12.78% 15.02% 17.81%
65-69 16.88% 9.84% 12.28% 13.75% 15.65%
70-74 15.41% 9.87% 12.67% 13.27% 14.54%
75-79 14.98% 10.45% 14.04% 13.49% 14.44%
80+ 17.09% 13.44% 19.78% 15.87% 16.92%
TOTAL 27.39% 13.77% 19.10% 21.08% 24.63%
Male/Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 35.96% 22.12% 20.97% 27.64% 31.47%
50-54 26.12% 16.34% 16.67% 19.49% 23.56%
55-59 21.95% 13.14% 14.81% 16.27% 20.04%
60-64 19.25% 10.47% 13.50% 14.15% 17.70%
65-69 17.71% 8.20% 12.63% 12.86% 16.28%
70-74 17.17% 6.37% 12.14% 12.28% 15.67%
75-79 17.57% 4.92% 12.00% 12.31% 16.03%
80+ 20.57% 3.28% 12.55% 13.91% 18.80%
TOTAL 25.26% 15.41% 17.41% 20.16% 23.12%


go to the top

2010 Prevalence Rates of Vision Impairment by Race

Chart Projections 2010 (Myopia)

  All White Black Hispanic Other
Prevalence 0.239 0.264 0.145 0.183 0.207


go to the top

2010 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Myopia (in thousands) by Age, and Race/Ethnicity

2010 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Vision Impairment (in thousands) by age, gender, and race/ethnicity (Myopia)

Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 11,580 1,074 1,488 910 15,052
50-54 4,472 388 411 287 5,558
55-59 3,322 264 268 202 4,056
60-64 2,492 172 180 142 2,986
65-69 1,673 105 118 88 1,984
70-74 1,178 70 87 62 1,397
75-79 945 50 68 44 1,107
80+ 1,728 81 106 63 1,978
TOTAL 27,390 2,204 2,726 1,798 34,118

2010 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Myopia (in thousands) by Age, Gender, and Race/Ethnicity

2010 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Myopia (in thousands) by gender.

Female/Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 6,449 514 798 492 8,253
50-54 2,430 186 209 157 2,982
55-59 1,766 134 136 112 2,148
60-64 1,290 94 93 79 1,556
65-69 854 64 64 49 1,031
70-74 599 48 50 35 732
75-79 490 39 42 26 597
80+ 1,019 73 77 41 1,210
TOTAL 14,897 1,152 1,469 991 18,509
Male/Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 5,131 560 690 418 6,799
50-54 2,042 202 202 130 2,576
55-59 1,556 130 132 90 1,908
60-64 1,202 78 87 63 1,430
65-69 819 41 54 39 953
70-74 579 22 37 27 665
75-79 455 11 26 18 510
80+ 709 8 29 22 768
TOTAL 12,493 1,052 1,257 807 15,609


go to the top

Projections for Myopia (2010-2030-2050)

Chart Projections 2010 (Myopia)

Year All White Black Hispanic Other
2010 34,119,279 27,391,291 2,204,294 2,724,715 1,798,978
2030 39,094,141 28,034,771 2,840,018 5,177,235 3,042,117
2050 44,496,229 27,787,556 3,380,636 8,695,907 4,632,129

Chart Projections 2010 (Myopia)

Total Population 142,648,393 103,846,437 15,190,777 14,901,369 8,709,810


go to the top

Changes of Cases between 2000 and 2010

Chart Projections 2010 (Myopia)

Year Value Short Value
2000 30,357,202 30,357
2010 34,119,279 34,119

2000 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Myopia (in thousands) by Age, and Race/Ethnicity

2000 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Myopia Chart

Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 12,799 996 947 719 15,461
50-54 3,831 262 230 195 4,518
55-59 2,427 157 140 113 2,837
60-64 1,647 109 98 77 1,931
65-69 1,319 79 75 56 1,529
70-74 1,186 61 59 42 1,348
75-79 1,012 45 43 30 1,130
80+ 1,441 68 58 37 1,604
TOTAL 25,662 1,777 1,650 1,269 30,358

2000 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Myopia (in thousands) by Age, Gender, and Race/Ethnicity

2000 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Myopia (in thousands) by gender.

Female/Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 7,151 483 511 385 8,530
50-54 2,084 128 119 106 2,437
55-59 1,295 81 72 61 1,509
60-64 862 61 51 42 1,016
65-69 686 49 41 32 808
70-74 625 43 34 25 727
75-79 555 35 27 18 635
80+ 901 61 43 24 1,029
TOTAL 14,159 941 898 693 16,691
Male/Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 5,648 513 436 334 6,931
50-54 1,747 134 111 89 2,081
55-59 1,132 76 68 52 1,328
60-64 785 48 47 35 915
65-69 633 30 34 24 721
70-74 561 18 25 17 621
75-79 457 10 16 12 495
80+ 540 7 15 13 575
TOTAL 11,503 836 752 576 13,667


go to the top

[ NEI Home | Contact Us | A-Z Site Map | Information in Spanish (Información en español)]
[ Web Site Policies and Important Links | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | FOIA | Information Quality Guidelines | FAQ ]
[ NEI Employee Emergency Information | NEI Intranet (Employees Only)]

*PDF files require the free Adobe® Reader® software for viewing.

We welcome your questions and comments. Please send general questions and comments to the NEI Office of Science Communications, Public Liaison, and Education. Technical questions about this website can be addressed to the NEI Website Manager.


Department of Health and Human Services NIH, the National Institutes of Health USA.gov

NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health ®