The state of eye care in 2025: key statistics on vision loss, glaucoma, and access to diagnostics
- PeriVision
- Jun 4
- 7 min read
Introduction
Eye health is emerging as one of the most overlooked public health priorities of our time. In 2025, nearly one in four people globally are living with some form of vision impairment, and the numbers are rising.
The drivers?
Aging populations
Lifestyle-related diseases like diabetes
Limited access to preventive eye care.
But here’s the paradox: up to 50% of vision loss is preventable with early detection and proper treatment. So why are millions still going undiagnosed?
The reality is that current diagnostic tools, clinical workflows, and healthcare access models haven’t kept pace with the rising demand. Visual field tests remain long, uncomfortable, and hard to scale. Specialized equipment is concentrated in urban centers. And eye clinics around the world are struggling with backlogs, staff shortages, and outdated systems.
Yet there is hope. New technologies like AI and virtual reality (VR) are starting to shift how and where eye care happens: real-time data transfer, predictive diagnostics, a-home testing. What was once confined to a hospital room could soon be available in your living room.
As Dr. Kevin Gillmann, Chief Medical Officer at PeriVision, puts it:
"We’re not just building new tools. We’re changing how and where eye care happens, so no one is left behind."
In this article, we’ll break down:
The global burden of vision loss, with key stats and causes
Challenges in current diagnostic access and clinical testing
How AI and VR are helping to close the care gap
What needs to change in the next 5 years to protect sight at scale
By the numbers: global burden of eye disease
The global burden of vision impairment is climbing at an alarming rate, and we’re not doing enough to stop it. In 2025, an estimated 2.2 billion people live with some form of vision impairment, from mild visual disturbances to complete blindness. That’s nearly 28% of the global population. What’s even more concerning is that at least 1 billion of these cases could have been prevented or are yet to be addressed.
Eye health in numbers
According to the World Health Organization, the total number of people with vision loss has grown by over 15% since 2020, driven by aging populations, chronic disease, and limited access to routine diagnostics. And this is just the beginning. By 2050, the number is expected to exceed 3.5 billion if current trends continue.
Metric | Statistic |
Number of people affected by vision loss globally | 2.2 billion |
Percentage increase since 2020 | +15% |
Estimated growth by 2050 | 3.5 billion |
Percentage of preventable or untreated cases | 50% |
Leading causes in adults over 50 | Cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy |
Global productivity loss due to vision impairment | $411 billion annually (WHO estimate) |
Preventable but untreated
Despite these staggering figures, access to timely eye care remains uneven and inefficient. While cataracts can be resolved through a simple surgical procedure, many patients in low- and middle-income countries wait years or never receive the intervention. Glaucoma, a condition that causes irreversible blindness if left undiagnosed, often goes undetected for years. In fact, over 50% of people with glaucoma don’t know they have it, a silent epidemic with lasting consequences.
Economic and social impact
And the ripple effects go far beyond individual health. Vision impairment significantly affects educational opportunities, workforce participation, and independence. Globally, the economic impact of unaddressed vision loss is estimated at over $400 billion annually in lost productivity.
“These are conditions we know how to manage. The problem is we often detect them too late.”
— Ophthalmologist from our PeriVision user panel
The takeaway? We don’t lack solutions, we lack the systems to deliver them at scale. To reverse this trend, we must move beyond reactive care and invest in proactive, accessible, and data-driven approaches that can meet people where they are.
Challenges in diagnostics and access to testing
Behind every statistic on vision loss is a person who struggled (or failed) to get tested in time. While the tools for early detection and monitoring exist, they’re not reaching the people who need them most.
Access remains the first barrier
Access is the first major hurdle. In many low- and middle-income countries, patients have to travel for hours just to reach an eye clinic with the right equipment. In rural or remote areas, that trip might be impossible. Even in wealthier health systems, it’s not much better: long wait times, overbooked appointments, and specialist shortages are common. The result? Delays in diagnosis, missed follow-ups, and a growing burden on already stretched clinicians.
Testing that works against patients
Then comes the test itself. Take visual field testing, for example, a gold standard for monitoring glaucoma. It’s essential, but notoriously difficult. Patients must fixate on a single point for up to 15 minutes per eye, responding to faint light flashes in a darkened room. It’s exhausting, especially for elderly or neurodivergent patients. If they lose focus, the test loses reliability. In many cases, patients skip follow-ups altogether because the experience is so unpleasant.
“I didn’t like it. It’s long and confusing, and I’m never sure if I’m doing it right.”
— Patient feedback, PeriVision clinical study
Staff shortages and overburdened clinics
There’s also the human bottleneck. These tests require trained technicians to guide patients, monitor the test, and interpret results. But staffing shortages and rising patient volumes mean that many clinics are under constant pressure. This leads to rushed workflows, inconsistent test quality, and burned-out staff.
Cost keeps modern tools out of reach
Cost is the final barrier. Advanced diagnostics, especially AI-assisted platforms or portable devices, are still out of reach for many smaller clinics and primary care centers. Most rely on outdated machines or refer patients to tertiary hospitals, adding to system delays.
Barrier | Impact |
Geographic inaccessibility | Missed or delayed diagnosis |
Long, uncomfortable procedures | Low patient compliance, especially for older adults |
Technician shortage | Reduced capacity, overburdened staff |
Cost of advanced diagnostics | Uneven adoption, outdated testing in many clinics |
What needs to change
In short, while our understanding of eye diseases has advanced, the infrastructure around diagnostics has not kept pace. If we want to tackle vision loss at scale, we need tools that are smarter, faster, and far more patient-friendly.
“We don’t just need better technology… we need technology that works for patients and staff. Eye care should be accessible, wherever you are.”
— Patrick Kessel, Co-Founder at PeriVision
“Eight minutes per eye, high concentration, a dark room, and bulky machines, traditional VFTs just don’t work for many patients anymore.”
The role of AI & VR in closing the gap
Technology is only as powerful as the problems it solves. In eye care, the biggest problems aren’t just medical: they’re logistical, economic, and human. That’s where artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) come in. Together, they’re not just upgrading diagnostics, they’re reimagining how care is delivered.
Let’s start with AI. Eye diseases like glaucoma develop slowly, often without early symptoms. That makes subtle patterns in test data critical, and also easy to miss. AI excels at spotting these patterns, processing large amounts of visual field and imaging data in seconds, and flagging changes long before a clinician would have the time (or bandwidth) to notice them.
It’s not about replacing doctors. It’s about giving them better tools, a co-pilot, not an autopilot.
Now add VR to the equation. Traditional visual field testing machines are bulky, immobile, and require a dark room and supervision. PeriVision’s VR-based solution, VisionOne™, flips that model: the test can be done in any room, without a technician, in just minutes. It’s lighter, faster, and more comfortable, for both patients and staff.
A recent usability study found that:
95% of patients found VisionOne easy to use
100% were open to testing themselves at home
Test duration was reduced to ~3 minutes per eye
That kind of accessibility changes everything, especially for chronic conditions like glaucoma, where regular monitoring is key.
Traditional VFT | VisionOne™ by PeriVision |
15+ minutes per eye | ~3 minutes per eye |
Requires dark room & technician | Can be done anywhere, autonomously |
Uncomfortable & tiring | 8.75/10 comfort score (patient-reported) |
Stationary and expensive | Portable and scalable |
Why this matters for the future of care
This technology is already used in real clinics across Europe and the US, and the feedback is clear: it’s not just a tech demo. It’s a working solution.
“The combination of VR and AI gives us something we didn’t have before: speed, precision, and scale, without compromising the patient experience.”
— Dr. Bobby Tang, Clinical Advisor
Conclusion: what needs to change in the next 5 years
We’re at a crossroads in eye care.
On one hand, we have the data: over 2.2 billion people worldwide are living with vision impairment, and nearly half of those cases could have been prevented. We know glaucoma is often undiagnosed. We know patients are waiting too long for basic tests. We know the tools to do better already exist.
On the other hand, we have an opportunity. For the first time, technologies like AI and VR give us a real shot at changing not just how we test vision, but who gets tested, and when, and where.
But it won’t happen automatically.
Over the next five years, the field needs to shift from innovation to implementation.
Make scalable tools the standard. Portable, AI-powered diagnostics like VisionOne™ are ready for use. The priority now is to integrate them into public health systems, clinical workflows, and even at-home care models.
Bring care closer to patients. Whether it’s through primary care, telehealth, or shipping devices to patients’ homes, testing must meet people where they are—not the other way around.
Invest in training, not just tech. The best tools are only as useful as the people using them. Support for clinicians, technicians, and patients is essential to ensure adoption and trust.
Think globally. Act locally. Different regions face different challenges. A solution that works in Boston may need adapting in Nairobi. Global innovation needs local adaptation.
Put patients at the center. Comfort, clarity, and control make patients more likely to engage in their care. The future of diagnostics should feel empowering—not stressful.
As Patrick Kessel, CEO of PeriVision, puts it:
“It’s not about building the most advanced technology. It’s about building the most useful technology, something that fits into people’s lives and helps them see better, longer.”
We already have the vision. What we need now is the momentum.