Eyesight tests through the national health service in England 2000-2020

In 2019/20 there were approximately 13.4 million eyesight tests conducted in England through the NHS. The number of sight tests carried out by the NHS has increased nearly year-on-year since the year 2000 when around 9.6 million tests were conducted.

Seeing clearly now

As of 2020, almost 59 percent of the population of the United Kingdom wore spectacles, raking eleventh on the list of European countries, signifying that most of the British population has a need for the millions of sight tests carried out per year. Additionally, as of 2020 over nine percent of the British population wear contact lenses.

Factors increasing demand for opticians

Since 2004, the number of optometrists in England has increased dramatically. There were less than eight thousand practicing optometrists in 2004, by 2019 this number increased to over 14 thousand. Female representation in this field has also increased over this time so that in 2018, 55.5 percent of practicing optometrists in 2018 were female compared to 45.5 percent male.