Statistics on sight loss

How many New Zealanders have sight loss? Estimates range from 11,500 to 125,000 depending on how you count, as people have different degrees of sight loss that affect their lives in different ways.

Three ways of estimating sight loss in New Zealand are:

• the RNZFB's membership statistics. The RNZFB has more than 11,500 blind and partially sighted members.
• the regular Disability Survey conducted by Statistics New Zealand. The last Survey in 2006 found a total of 71,100 people in New Zealand with sight loss.
• VISION 2020's Clear Focus research into the economic cost of sight loss in New Zealand. Clear Focus found that in 2009, almost 125,000 New Zealanders had vision loss, and around 12,000 were blind.

RNZFB membership

The RNZFB has more than 11,500 blind and partially sighted members. People can become RNZFB members if they meet the membership criteria.

Adult members are "New Zealand residents who, in the opinion of a registered Optometrist or Ophthalmologist, have a visual acuity not exceeding 6/24 in the better eye with corrective lenses, or serious limitations in the field of vision, generally not greater than 20 degrees in the widest diameter in the better eye."

All RNZFB members have a measured degree of sight loss, however not all New Zealanders with sight loss qualify for memebrship or choose to become members of the RNZFB. This means that the RNZFB's membership numbers are a low estimate of the number of blind and partially sighted New Zealanders.

Statistics New Zealand

The post-Census 2006 Disability Survey found a total of 71,100 people in New Zealand with sight loss, including 11,400 children and 59,700 adults.

Rather than using a medical measure of sight loss, the Disability Survey asked people to self-identify whether they had a 'seeing disability'. For adults, this was defined as "a difficulty or inability to see ordinary newsprint and/or the face of someone from across a room, even when wearing corrective lenses". For children, a 'seeing disability' meant "blindness or trouble with eyesight, even when wearing corrective lenses".

Because the Disability Survey is not based on a standard medical measure of sight loss, these statistics do not give an exact number of New Zealanders with sight loss, but give a good general estimate of the number of New Zealanders who might say that sight loss affects their quality of life.

Clear Focus research

The RNZFB partnered with VISION 2020 New Zealand to release Clear Focus, a research report into the economic impact of vision loss in New Zealand. Clear Focus found that in 2009, almost 125,000 New Zealanders over 40 had vision loss, and around 12,000 were blind. The research also found that:

• By 2020, the number of people aged 40 years or over with vision loss is projected to rise to almost 174,000. The population of those who are blind is projected to rise to 18,300.
• In 2009, around 12,000 Māori people had sight loss, and more than 600 were blind. By 2020, this is projected to rise to almost 19,000 Māori people with sight loss, including 1,200 who are blind.
• In addition to the estimates of sight loss, a further 14,400 people had uncorrected presbyopia in 2009. This is projected to rise to 17,000 by 2020.

Read more about the Clear Focus research.

Clear Focus defined vision loss as being less than the threshold for driving, which in New Zealand is 6/12. Blindness was defined as a visual acuity of 6/60 or a visual field of less than 10 degrees. Uncorrected presbyopia was counted separately.

Because there have been no large-scale ophthalmological surveys for New Zealand, Clear Focus used Australian epidemiological data as the basis for their New Zealand estimates. The numbers were adjusted for higher rates of sight loss among the Māori population as identified in the 2006 Disability Survey. The Clear Focus research gives good statistical estimates on the number of New Zealanders over 40 who are blind or have sight loss.