Number of people treated for river blindness in Uganda

Uganda: Number of people treated for river blindness was 596,500 People in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
596,500 People
Change on year
down 59.6%
World rank
21st
of 33 countries
All-time high
2.75 million People
in 2011
All-time low
596,500 People
in 2024
Years of data
20
2005–2024

Number of people treated for river blindness in Uganda, 2005–2024

500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M2005201420242005: 1.9M People2006: 2.0M People2007: 2.2M People2008: 2.2M People2009: 2.3M People2010: 2.0M People2011: 2.7M People2012: 2.4M People2013: 2.5M People2014: 2.7M People2015: 1.9M People2016: 1.9M People2017: 2.2M People2018: 1.9M People2019: 1.8M People2020: 1.3M People2021: 1.4M People2022: 1.4M People2023: 1.5M People2024: 596.5k People

Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in People.

Analysis

Uganda recorded 596,500 People for number of people treated for river blindness in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.

That represents a change of down 59.6% on the previous year and down 77.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people treated for river blindness in Uganda peaked at 2.75 million People in 2011 and was at its lowest, 596,500 People, in 2024.

Uganda ranks 21st of 33 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.

Number of people treated for river blindness in Uganda, year by year

Annual values for Number of people treated for river blindness in Uganda, 2005 to 2024.
Year People Change
2005 1.95 million People
2006 2.03 million People +4.3%
2007 2.17 million People +6.9%
2008 2.20 million People +1.5%
2009 2.33 million People +5.7%
2010 2.03 million People -12.8%
2011 2.75 million People +35.4%
2012 2.36 million People -14.2%
2013 2.50 million People +6.1%
2014 2.69 million People +7.3%
2015 1.92 million People -28.5%
2016 1.91 million People -0.7%
2017 2.23 million People +17.0%
2018 1.94 million People -13.3%
2019 1.82 million People -5.8%
2020 1.34 million People -26.4%
2021 1.39 million People +3.8%
2022 1.43 million People +2.8%
2023 1.48 million People +3.1%
2024 596,500 People -59.6%

Uganda compared with similar countries

  • Uganda's 596,500 People is below the median for low income countries, which is 1.66 million People, 36% of the median. (15 countries reporting)
  • Uganda's 596,500 People is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.06 million People, 20% of the median. (27 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Number of people treated for river blindness in Uganda changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2024 -59.6% 1.48 million People 596,500 People

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.14 million People 1.95 million People 2.33 million People 5
2010s 2.22 million People 1.82 million People 2.75 million People 10
2020s 1.25 million People 596,500 People 1.48 million People 5

Countries ranked near Uganda

  1. 18 Central African Republic 1.66 million People compare
  2. 19 Yemen 1.29 million People compare
  3. 20 Congo 772,264 People compare
  4. 22 Guinea-Bissau 443,616 People compare
  5. 23 Sierra Leone 414,286 People compare
  6. 24 Senegal 327,943 People compare

See the full ranking of 33 places →

More reference data data for Uganda

All data for Uganda →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people treated for river blindness in Uganda?
Number of people treated for river blindness in Uganda was 596,500 People in 2024, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of people treated for river blindness recorded in Uganda?
The highest recorded value was 2.75 million People in 2011.
What is the lowest number of people treated for river blindness recorded in Uganda?
The lowest recorded value was 596,500 People in 2024.
How does Uganda rank for number of people treated for river blindness?
Uganda ranks 21st out of 33 countries with data for 2024.
Is number of people treated for river blindness rising or falling in Uganda?
Over the last ten years it is down 77.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Uganda data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people treated for river blindness. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of people treated for river blindness in Uganda. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/people-treated-for-river-blindness/uganda/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of people treated for river blindness
Unit
People
Source
World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
33 places, 538 data points, 2005–2024
Last refreshed

Reported number of people treated with ivermectin for river blindness.