Five billion people – half the world’s population – could have myopia by 2050, Ophthalmology reports.

It is predicted that 4,758 million people will have myopia by 2050, equivalent to an estimated 49.8 per cent of the world population, of which 938 million people (9.8 per cent of the world population) will have high myopia.

Reduced time spent outside and increased “near work activities”, such as using some electronic devices, at least partly account for the increase in short sightedness.

^{(DOI:10.1016/ j.ophtha.2016.01.006)}