Peer-reviewed research
Prevalence of Developmental Dyslexia in Primary School Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Liping Yang et al., Brain Sciences (MDPI), 2022 · DOI 10.3390/brainsci12020240
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- A systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of 58 studies that estimated how common developmental dyslexia is among primary school children worldwide, with subgroup analyses by sex and writing system.
- How much weight it carries
- Peer-reviewed and open access on PubMed Central. The pooled studies were highly heterogeneous, used different diagnostic criteria and were concentrated in the Western Pacific region and middle-income countries, so the pooled figure is an average across very different definitions.
Facts taken from this source
- A 2022 meta-analysis describes developmental dyslexia as a specific learning disorder concerning reading acquisition, which can have a lifelong negative impact on individuals.
“Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a specific learning disorder concerning reading acquisition that may has a lifelong negative impact on individuals.” (Abstract, Background)
- A 2022 meta-analysis put the pooled worldwide prevalence of developmental dyslexia among primary school children at 7.10 percent, with a higher rate in boys (9.22 percent) than in girls (4.66 percent).
“The pooled prevalence of DD was 7.10% (95% CI: 6.27-7.97%). The prevalence in boys was significantly higher than that in girls (boys: 9.22%, 95%CI, 8.07-10.44%; girls: 4.66%, 95% CI, 3.84-5.54%; p < 0.001)” (Abstract, Results)