The proportion of First Nations people who reported eye or vision problems: Measure 1.1.2
Latest data
Based on the latest available National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) data, in 2022–23, around half First Nations people (41%, or 408,800 people) reported long-term eye or sight problems (ABS 2022–23).
Explore more aspects of the data in the following section. See also Figure 3.
By remoteness
In 2022–23, the proportion of First Nations people who self-reported eye or sight problems fell as remoteness increased, from 46% in Major cities to 26% in Very remote areas (Figure 3 – remoteness).
By jurisdiction
In 2022–23, the prevalence of self-reported eye or sight problems for First Nations people was highest in Victoria (48%) and lowest in the Northern Territory (30%) (Figure 3 – jurisdiction).
By age and sex
In 2022–23, the prevalence of self-reported eye or sight problems was higher for First Nations females than for First Nations males (Figure 3 – sex). Self-reported eye or sight problems was highest for First Nations people aged 45 and over (ranging from around 80% to 93%), compared with around 13% for First Nations people aged 0–14 (Figure 3 – age).
Time trend
Since 2001, the age-standardised proportion of First Nations people who had an eye or sight problem rose from 47% to 51% in 2022–23, while it remained stable for non-Indigenous Australians at around 52% across this period (Figure 3 – time trend). After adjusting for age, the proportion of First Nations people with an eye or sight problem was similar to that for non-Indigenous Australians (51% and 54%, respectively).
