Official documentation
Deafness and hearing loss (fact sheet)
World Health Organization, 2026
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- The World Health Organization's fact sheet on deafness and hearing loss: how many people have disabling hearing loss, projections to 2050, causes, and the cost of unaddressed hearing loss. Dated 3 March 2026.
- How much weight it carries
- Authoritative global health body summarizing published estimates (World report on hearing). Figures are modelled global estimates, and the definition of disabling hearing loss is a WHO threshold, not a self-report.
Facts taken from this source
- Over 5 percent of the world's population, or 430 million people, need rehabilitation for disabling hearing loss, including 34 million children.
“Over 5% of the world's population - or 430 million people - require rehabilitation to address their disabling hearing loss (including 34 million children).” (Overview)