Our eyes go through an awful lot of strain and usage every day, and many people will begin to experience reduced vision at some point in their lives. While this usually doesn’t progress all the way to blindness, having reduced eyesight can make daily tasks much more difficult. Increased eye strain often leads to other symptoms such as headaches and migraines.
Modern life puts a great deal more strain on our eyes, leading to a wide range of vision defects becoming commonplace. However, many corrective treatments have been developed to help our eyes adapt to the demands of the modern world. These treatments range from simple prescription glasses and contact lenses to ointments, eye drops and even procedures such as cataract replacement surgery.
Treatments aside, we were curious to find out how eye health varies from place to place. Having looked at a variety of factors related to eye health, we were able to create an index of the best and worst cities for eyes. We’ve looked at 100 capital cities from all over the world and ranked them according to an overall Eye Health Score. Check out our results below.
These are the best cities for eye health in our study. Through a combination of good quality air, low levels of noise and light pollution, low prevalence of vision loss, and high-scoring health care, these cities are the perfect places to enjoy life without risking your vision.
Canberra is the best city for eyes according to our study, with an overall Eye Health Score of 9.47. The Australian capital enjoys some of the lowest levels of air, noise and light pollution, meaning eyes are less irritated and benefit from more restorative sleep. Australia also has a particularly low prevalence of vision loss, standing at around 4% of the population, while the country’s health care system is one of the highest-ranking in the world.
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These cities are some of the worst places to live for eye health, scoring very low in some or all of our chosen factors.
The worst city for eyes is Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, which scored just 2.92 out of a possible 10. Dhaka recorded among the highest levels of air pollution, while noise and light pollution were not far behind. Bangladesh also recorded a high level of nationwide vision loss at 19.3% of the population, while the country’s health care system was among the highest poorly rated.
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Air pollution is bad for many aspects of human health, and while we usually associate it with lung conditions and respiratory illnesses, it can also act as an irritant, causing our eyes to become sore and inflamed.
Wellington
Wellington has the lowest levels of air pollution, standing at 4.24 out of 100. This very low rating makes the New Zealand capital a great place for healthy eyesight, as well as being perfect for sufferers of respiratory conditions such as asthma.
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Air pollution score/100 |
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Clean air is essential for healthy eyes, as while we have eyelashes and eyelids to keep out much of the dirt and dust particles that float in the air, they cannot stop everything. Therefore, the dirtier the air, the more dirt is landing directly on your eyeball and causing irritation.
Ulaanbaatar
The Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar has the highest levels of pollution of any city in our study with a rating of 93.14 out of 100. The largest urban centre in Mongolia and home to half the country’s population, Ulaanbaatar’s pollution problem is the result of reliance on coal-burning, industrialisation, and diesel-powered power stations which can often leave the city shrouded in smog.
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Good quality sleep is essential for your body to recover from the strains of the day, recharging energy levels and repairing itself where possible. Lack of quality sleep is bad for your eyes, causing increased eye strain, which eventually might damage your vision.
Canberra
Canberra is the city with the lowest levels of noise and light pollution in our study, making it the perfect place for a peaceful and restorative night’s sleep. If you want to wake up feeling fresh, alert and with healthy vision, Canberra might be the place for you.
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Noise & light pollution score (score out of 100) |
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Noise and light pollution can be a problem for many people living in cities and urban areas, making it difficult to get enough sleep and leaving them fatigued throughout the day. This can have negative consequences for a wide range of health issues, including eyesight, which will be under additional strain without enough rest.
Lima
The city with the highest levels of noise and light pollution is the Peruvian capital, Lima, which scored 73.45 out of a potential 100. This bustling South American city is possibly one of the most difficult places to get a quality nights’ sleep, making it particularly straining on the local population's eyesight.
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Noise & light pollution score (score out of 100) |
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Looking at rates of vision loss in a country is a sure-fire way to pinpoint different areas where eyesight is particularly at risk, although it does not help to explain why this might be the case. Here we can see the country’s, and their respective capital cities, where rates of vision loss are lowest.
Netherlands & Canada
The Netherlands and Canada are tied with the lowest prevalence of vision loss at 3.4% of the population. Both countries are developed Western nations with good health care. As wealthy nations, both Netherlands and Canada are able to identify and treat medical conditions, such as those related to poor eyesight, much more quickly, while other factors such as overall health and diet are also more easily addressed.
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National prevalence of vision loss (age-adjusted) |
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High rates of vision loss can be attributed to a great many factors including genetics, pollution, screen time, diet and eye strain. There are many reasons why a country’s level of vision loss might be high, but a combination of factors is the highest likely explanation.
Nepal
The country with the highest level of vision loss is Nepal, in which 27.2% of the population have some form of visual impairment. This is the only country in which more than one in four people have damaged vision, making its capital Kathmandu one of the worst cities for eyes in our study.
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National prevalence of vision loss (age-adjusted) |
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Having a good healthcare system means that illnesses and ailments can be identified earlier and treated to a higher standard, improving outcomes for patients. It also makes people more willing to use the health service if it is seen as reliable and high quality.
Taiwan
Taiwan is the country with the best healthcare system in our study, with a rating of 86.41 out of 100. This high score means that people are more likely to use the healthcare system if they have a health issue, as well as being more likely to receive a high standard of treatment. This makes Taipei one of the better cities for eye health as you will be able to rely on the local healthcare system to look after you.
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National health care index score (score out of 100) |
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A poor healthcare system can be off-putting for patients, making them reluctant to have medical gripes and issues checked by a professional. Not only can a poor health system be unequipped to treat various medical issues, but by putting patients off ailments can go untreated and potentially become much worse.
Laos
Laos is the country with the worst healthcare system in our study, rated at just 33.73 out of one hundred. This makes the country’s capital, Vientiane, a particularly unsuitable city for those who want to look after their eyesight.
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National health care index score (score out of 100) |
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We wanted to find out which cities around the world are the best and worst for our eyes. To do this, we first made a list of 100 capital cities to act as the subjects of our study. We then collected data relating to several factors that can indicate whether a place is good or bad for the eyes.
The first two datasets we collected were the noise and light pollution rate and air pollution rate for each city, both of which were taken from Numbeo. We then collected data for each country’s health care system’s rating, also taken from Numbeo, as well as each country’s prevalence of vision loss, which was taken from the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
These four factors were combined into an equally-weighted score that allowed us to rank all 100 cities according to how good they are for eyes.
