Red-green color vision deficiency affects about 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women of Northern European descent. Rates vary by ancestry; blue-yellow and complete forms are much rarer.
Prevalence data
Color Blindness Statistics
Short answer
In detail
About 1 in 12 men (roughly 8%) and about 1 in 200 women (roughly 0.5%) of Northern European descent have some form of colour vision deficiency — an estimated 300 million people worldwide. Deuteranomaly, the mild green-cone form, accounts for the majority of cases on its own.
Rates are lower in other ancestries, at roughly 4–5% of men of Asian descent and 3–4% of men of African descent. Blue-yellow deficiency is far rarer and affects men and women about equally, and complete colour blindness is rarer still at around 1 in 30,000.
- Men (N. European)
- ~8%
- About 1 in 12
- Women (N. European)
- ~0.5%
- About 1 in 200
- Worldwide
- ~300M
- All forms combined
Prevalence by sex and ancestry
All forms of colour vision deficiency combined. Figures are approximate ranges from population screening studies and describe populations, not individuals.
| Population | Men | Women | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern European descent | ~8% (1 in 12) | ~0.5% (1 in 200) | The most studied population and the source of the familiar 1-in-12 figure |
| Asian descent | ~4–5% | ~0.4% | Consistently lower than European rates across multiple studies |
| African descent | ~3–4% | ~0.3% | Among the lower reported rates |
| Indigenous Australian | ~2% | Not well characterised | One of the lowest reported rates; based on limited sampling |
| Global estimate, all ancestries | ~1 in 12 | ~1 in 200 | Roughly 300 million people worldwide, all forms combined |
Prevalence by type
Northern European figures, where the data is strongest. Deuteranomaly alone outnumbers every other form combined.
| Type | Family | Men | Women | Share of cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deuteranomaly | Red-green (deutan) | ~5% | ~0.35% | The majority of all cases |
| Deuteranopia | Red-green (deutan) | ~1% | ~0.01% | Roughly an eighth of cases in men |
| Protanomaly | Red-green (protan) | ~1% | ~0.03% | Roughly an eighth of cases in men |
| Protanopia | Red-green (protan) | ~1% | ~0.02% | Roughly an eighth of cases in men |
| Tritanomaly and tritanopia | Blue-yellow (tritan) | Under 0.01% | Under 0.01% | Rare, and affects both sexes about equally |
| Achromatopsia (complete) | No functional colour vision | ~1 in 30,000 | ~1 in 30,000 | Rarest form; autosomal recessive |
Figures worth knowing alongside
| Figure | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Women who carry the gene without being affected | ~1 in 12 | Carriers have one altered X chromosome. They usually have normal colour vision and can pass it to a son. |
| Chance a carrier mother's son is affected | 50% | He inherits one of her two X chromosomes at random |
| Chance an affected father's daughter is a carrier | 100% | She receives his only X chromosome; she is affected only if her mother also passes one on |
| Pupils in an average class of 30 | ~1 | Roughly one child per mixed class, and usually a boy |
| Share of cases that are red-green | Nearly all | Blue-yellow and complete colour blindness together are a small fraction of the total |
What percentage of men are color blind?
About 8%, or 1 in 12, among men of Northern European descent — the population the classic figure comes from. That number covers every form together, and the mild green-cone form, deuteranomaly, accounts for the majority of it on its own. Strong forms where a cone is entirely absent are much less common, at roughly 1% each.
The figure is lower elsewhere. Studies of men of Asian descent typically report 4–5%, and men of African descent 3–4%, with some populations lower still. Those differences are real and consistently reproduced, but they describe populations rather than individuals, and study methods vary enough that the ranges matter more than any single number.
The reason men are affected so much more often is the X chromosome. The red and green cone pigment genes sit there, men have one X, and one altered copy is therefore enough.
What percentage of women are color blind?
About 0.5%, or 1 in 200, in the same Northern European population — roughly a sixteenth of the male rate. A woman needs an altered copy on both of her X chromosomes to be affected, and the probability of two independent copies landing together is close to the square of the male rate, which is exactly what the numbers show.
Carrier status is the more common situation by far. Around 1 in 12 women carries an altered copy on one X chromosome without being colour blind herself, and can pass it to a son. That is why colour blindness appears to skip generations: it travels invisibly through mothers.
There is one genuinely interesting consequence. Because carriers have two different versions of a cone pigment gene, some may express four distinct cone types rather than three. Whether that produces measurably better colour discrimination in practice is still debated, and the evidence for functional tetrachromacy in humans is far thinner than popular articles suggest.
How the figures are established, and their limits
Prevalence figures come from population screening, usually with pseudo-isochromatic plates and sometimes with anomaloscopy in smaller confirmatory samples. Plates are sensitive and catch mild cases, which is a strength for screening and a complication for counting: where a study sets its pass criterion moves the reported prevalence by a meaningful margin.
Two further caveats are worth stating. Most large historical studies sampled conscripts and schoolchildren, which skews toward young men and toward the countries doing the research — a large part of why European figures are the best characterised. And ancestry categories in older literature are coarse, so the population rows above should be read as broad patterns rather than precise group values.
None of this undermines the headline numbers, which have been stable across decades and across countries. It does mean the right way to quote them is with a range and a population, not as a single global constant.
Where do you fall in these numbers?
A free screening takes about two minutes and estimates whether you have a deficiency, which family it points to, and roughly how strong it is. Try the color blind test.
Color blindness statistics — frequently asked questions
- What percentage of men are color blind?
- About 8%, or 1 in 12, among men of Northern European descent. Rates are lower elsewhere — roughly 4–5% of men of Asian descent and 3–4% of men of African descent. Deuteranomaly, the mild green-cone form, accounts for the majority of cases on its own.
- What percentage of women are color blind?
- About 0.5%, or 1 in 200, in the same population — roughly a sixteenth of the male rate. A woman needs an altered copy on both X chromosomes to be affected. Around 1 in 12 women is a carrier with normal colour vision who can pass the gene to a son.
- How many people are color blind worldwide?
- An estimated 300 million people, combining all forms. The figure is an extrapolation from population prevalence rates rather than a direct global count, so it should be read as an order of magnitude rather than a precise total.
- What is the most common type of color blindness?
- Deuteranomaly, the mild form involving the green M-cone. It affects roughly 5% of men on its own — more than every other form combined — which is why most colour blind people describe confusing greens with browns rather than seeing no colour.
- How rare is complete color blindness?
- Very. Complete achromatopsia affects roughly 1 in 30,000 people and affects men and women equally, since it is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern rather than on the X chromosome. It usually comes with reduced visual acuity and marked light sensitivity.
- How many children in a class are color blind?
- Roughly one in a mixed class of thirty, and usually a boy. That is the practical reason colour-coded teaching materials matter: in any given classroom there is likely to be at least one pupil for whom the colour coding does not work.
Keep reading
Can women be color blind?
Why the rate is 1 in 200 rather than 1 in 12, and what carriers experience.
How color blindness is inherited
The X-linked pattern behind every number on this page, with a calculator.
Types of color blindness
What each named form in the table actually looks like.
What causes color blindness
The cone genetics behind the inherited forms, and the acquired causes.
Sources
- Colour Blind Awareness — Colour blindness statistics
- National Eye Institute (NEI) — Color blindness
- MedlinePlus Genetics — Color vision deficiency (frequency)
- American Academy of Ophthalmology — What Is Color Blindness?
- NHS — Colour vision deficiency
Last reviewed July 26, 2026. Prevalence figures are approximate, population-dependent, and sensitive to the screening criterion a study uses. Quote them with a range and a population rather than as a single global constant.