Population
Understanding the scale and impact of hearing loss is essential for assistive technologies. This section explores the global funnel from hearing loss to deafness and its significance.
- 1.5 billion people experience hearing loss globally.
- 430 million people require rehabilitation for disabling hearing loss.
- 70 million people are considered deaf.
- 12[1]-24[2]-25[3] million people natively use sign languages.
Hearing Loss[4]
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that globally, 1.5 billion people live with some degree of hearing loss, a number expected to rise to 2.5 billion by 2050. Of these, 430 million people experience disabling hearing loss, requiring rehabilitation to improve quality of life. By 2050, this number is projected to grow to 700 million.
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Unaddressed hearing loss poses an annual global cost of US$ 980 billion. This includes health sector costs (excluding the cost of hearing devices), costs of educational support, loss of productivity and societal costs.
These impairments are defined per ear, as follows[5]:
| Grade | Hearing Loss (dB) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0: No impairment | 0–25 dB | Normal hearing or no significant hearing difficulty. |
| 1: Slight impairment | 26–40 dB | Able to hear and repeat words spoken in normal voice at 1 meter; may have difficulty in noisy settings. |
| 2: Moderate impairment | 41–60 dB | Able to hear and repeat words spoken in raised voice at 1 meter; struggles with conversation. |
| 3: Severe impairment | 61–80 dB | Able to hear some words when shouted directly into the ear; significant communication challenges. |
| 4: Profound impairment including deafness | >80 dB | Unable to hear and understand even when shouted directly into the ear; often relies on visual communication methods. |
Deafness[6]
Among those with disabling hearing loss, the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) estimates there are approximately 70 million deaf people worldwide. This community spans over 200 sign languages (or over 300[7]), underlining the linguistic diversity of deaf populations.
From our research, it is unclear how many people use sign languages. The European Centre for Modern Languages[1:1] estimates that on average, deaf sign language users make up about 0.16% of the whole population in any given country, amounting to 12 million people worldwide. According to Ethnologue (via Derivation[2:1]), there are 24 million native sign language users worldwide, and according to a conglomeration of sources[3:1], the number signers for the top 100 used sign languages is 25 million.
Sign Language Interpreters
Sign language interpreters are a rare commodity, and are globally in shortage. In Israel, a survey conducted among the organization's members found that 67% of interpreters refuse to attend a single-hour interpretation order.[8]
We list the number of interpreters in various countries below. For all countries in Europe, visit https://www.eud.eu/member-countries/.
| Country | Population | HoH Population | Deaf Population | Interpreters | Deaf Interpreters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 331 million (2023) | 11[9]-12[10] million | 1 million[11] | 10,385[12] | |
| India | 1.4 billion (2023) | 2 million[13] | 300[13:1] | ||
| Germany | 83 million[14] | 200,000[15][16] | 750[15:1] | 26-30[16:1] | |
| Switzerland | 8.7 million[14:1] | 800,000[17] | 10,000[17:1][16:2][18] | 63 Swiss-German, 32 Swiss-French, 8 Swiss-Italian[18:1] | (1-5 Swiss-German, 1-5 Swiss-Italian)[16:3] |
| Israel | 9.7 million (2023) | 55,700[19] | 10,000[20] | 147[21]-200[8:1] | |
| The United Kingdom | 77,000[16:4] | 16-20[16:5] | |||
| Slovenia | 1016[22] | 61[22:1] | 2-5[16:6] | ||
| Spain | 100,000[23] | 667[23:1] | <15[16:7] | ||
| Austria | 8,000 – 10,000[16:8][24] | 150[24:1] | 5[16:9] | ||
| Belgium | 6,500[25] - 9,000[16:10] | 165[25:1] | (5-10 Flanders, 16-26 Wallonia)[16:11] |
European Centre for Modern Languages. 2024. Facts about sign language. ↩︎ ↩︎
Derivation. 2022. International Day of Sign Languages 2022. ↩︎ ↩︎
Shester Gueuwou. 2023. Sign Language Info ↩︎ ↩︎
World Health Organization. 2021. Fact Sheet: Deafness and Hearing Loss. ↩︎
World Health Organization. 1991. Report of the informal working group on prevention of deafness and hearing impairment programme planning. ↩︎
United Nations. 2024. International Day of Sign Languages. ↩︎
Omer Sharvit. 2022. מחסור חמור במתורגמנים לשפת הסימנים. ↩︎ ↩︎
Disability Statistics. 2022. Disability Statistics. ↩︎
Center for Research on Disability. 2023. Build Your Own Statistics. ↩︎
Mitchell, Ross E. 2005. How many deaf people are there in the United States? Estimates from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. ↩︎
Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. 2024. Publications. ↩︎
World Federation of the Deaf. 2024. News: Special Interest Groups. ↩︎ ↩︎
International Association of Conference Interpreters. 2024. The Swiss Interpreting Market. ↩︎ ↩︎
European Union of the Deaf. 2024. Member Countries: Germany. ↩︎ ↩︎
Danish Deaf Association. 2016. Deaf Interpreters in Europe. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Swissinfo. 2021. Positive signs: Swiss Deaf Federation marks 75 years of adversity. ↩︎ ↩︎
European Union of the Deaf. 2024. Member Countries: Switzerland. ↩︎ ↩︎
Central Bureau of Statistics, 2024. Data on People with Hearing Impairments in Israel on the Occasion of World Hearing Day 2024. ↩︎
Meir et al. 2010. Emerging sign languages. ↩︎
Malach Israel. 2024. רשימת מתורגמנים. ↩︎
European Union of the Deaf. 2024. Member Countries: Slovenia. ↩︎ ↩︎
European Union of the Deaf. 2024. Member Countries: Spain. ↩︎ ↩︎
European Union of the Deaf. 2024. Member Countries: Austria. ↩︎ ↩︎
European Union of the Deaf. 2024. Member Countries: Belgium. ↩︎ ↩︎