1. World Health Organization
8 November 2018
WHO global estimates on prevalence of hearing loss
Prevention of Deafness
WHO, 2018

2. World Health Organization
Summary
8 November 2018
WHO estimates that there are
466 million persons in the world live with disabling hearing loss* -> 6.1% of the world's population
432 million (93%) of these are adults -> 242 million males, 190 million females
34 million (7%) of these are children
One-third of persons 65+ are affected by disabling hearing loss
The number of people with disabling hearing loss will grow over the years -> up to 630 million by 2030 and over 900 million in 2050**
*Disabling hearing loss refers to hearing loss greater than 40 dB in the better hearing ear in adults (15 years or older) and greater than 30 dB in the better hearing ear in children (0 to 14 years).
**Projections calculated based on the WHO 2008 prevalence estimates

3. Prevalence of hearing loss: WHO global estimates
In 2018, there are an estimated 466 million people with disabling hearing loss worldwide. 93% of them are adults and 7% children. Among the adults, there are more males (56%) than females (44%) with disabling hearing loss.

4. Disabling hearing loss is unequally distributed across the world
The pie-chart shows the distribution of disabling hearing loss across different regions of the world.

5. Prevalence of disabling hearing loss across the world
The table gives the prevalence of disabling hearing loss among all ages, in millions and as percentage of population, overall and according to regions.

6. Prevalence of disabling hearing loss in adult males, adult females and children across the world
This table shows the prevalence of disabling hearing loss across the world for each population group separately– children, adult males and adult females. The prevalence trends are similar to the trends for the global population.

7. Prevalence of disabling hearing loss for adults by region
This figure shows the prevalence of disabling hearing loss among adults (males, females and both together) across different world regions. It is evident that the prevalence is higher in males compared to females in all regions.

8. Prevalence of disabling hearing loss in children
The graph depicts the prevalence of hearing loss in children (0-15 years) across all regions.

9. Prevalence of disabling hearing loss for children, adults 15+, and adults 65+
The graph shows the prevalence of hearing loss in different age groups, across the regions. Overall, the prevalence of disabling hearing loss increases with age, i.e. prevalence in children is 1.7%; in adults aged 15+ -> 7.6%; rapidly increasing to almost one in three in adults older than 65 years.

10. Trends in hearing loss over the next 35 years
This graph shows (in millions) WHO’s projections regarding the number of people likely to have DHL is growing in coming years.
It could rise from 466 million in 2018, to 933 million in 2050.

11. Projected number of people with hearing loss in different world regions until 2050
The map shows the current and projected number of people with hearing loss in different regions.
Projections show that the number of people with disabling hearing loss will increase in all regions.

12. Prevalence of Disabling Hearing Loss for children versus average GNI per capita:*
The graph shows that in children, prevalence decreases exponentially as national income increases. ___________________
*GNI per capita: gross national income per capita

13. Prevalence of Disabling Hearing Loss in children versus average parent's literacy rate
The graph shows a negative relationship between prevalence of disabling hearing loss in children and parents’ literacy rates. This means that the prevalence in children decreases when parents’ literacy rate increases.

14. Annex 1: World regions Details of Selected Regions Countries
Subregion
Countries
East Asia region
East Asia
China, Hong Kong SAR (China), Macau SAR (China), Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Asia Pacific region
Southeast Asia
Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam.
Oceania
Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Niue.
South Asia region
South Asia
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan
Central / Eastern Europe and Central Asia region
Central Asia
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
Central Europe
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of).
Eastern Europe
Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russian Federation, Ukraine.
Middle East and North Africa region
North Africa and Middle East
Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.

15. Annex 1: Distribution of countries in regions
Sub-Saharan Africa region
Central Africa
Angola, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon.
East Africa
Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia.
Southern Africa
Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe.
West Africa
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, São Tomé and Príncipe, Togo.
Latin America and Caribbean region
Andean Latin America
Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru.
Central Latin America
Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela (Bolivarian Rep. of).
Southern Latin America
Argentina, Chile, Uruguay.
Tropical Latin America
Brazil, Paraguay.
Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.
High-income region
Asia-Pacific
Brunei Darussalam, Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore.
Australasia
Australia, New Zealand.
North America
Canada, United States of America.
Western Europe
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Monaco and San Marino.

16. Annex 2: Data sources Indicator Source
Hearing Loss Estimates MBD: All degrees of hearing loss for adults and children
WHO, 2018 Hearing Loss estimates
Population 2017 Estimates
*UNDP 2017 World Population Prospects
GNI per capita 2016 Estimates, Atlas method (current US $ Dollars)
**Worldbank Database 2018
Literacy rate 2016 Estimates, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)
*WPP available at:
**Worldbank database available at: