The number of First Nations people who had cataract surgery, as a proportion of those who had cataract surgery plus those who have vision loss: Measure 3.5.1
The cataract surgical coverage rate, expressed as the number of First Nations people who have had cataract surgery, as a proportion of those who have had cataract surgery plus those who have vision loss (visual acuity worse than 6/12) and cataracts in 1 or both eyes (National Eye Health Survey definition).
Latest data
Based on the latest available National Eye Health Survey (NEHS) data, in 2016, cataract surgical coverage rate for First Nations people was 59%. This was significantly lower than the rate for non-Indigenous Australians (89%) (Figure 37).
Figure 37: Cataract surgical coverage rate (NEHS), 2016
Note: Data are weighted to account for sampling rate in each remoteness stratum (Foreman et al. 2017)
Source: National Eye Health Survey 2016.
Explore more aspects of the data in the following section. See also Figure 38.
By age and Indigenous status
In 2016, the estimated cataract surgical coverage rate for First Nations people was lowest for those aged 40–49 (43%) and highest for those aged 70–79 (73%). The surgical coverage rate for non-Indigenous Australians was significantly higher than that for First Nations people for those aged 60–69 (88%, CI 83%–92%; and 50%, CI 39%–61%, respectively) and for those aged 80 or over (92%, CI 88%–95%; and 63%, CI 43%–79%, respectively) (Figure 38 – population groups).
By remoteness
Cataract surgical coverage rates for First Nations participants did not differ significantly by remoteness (Figure 38 – remoteness).
Figure 38: Cataract surgical coverage rate National Eye Health Survey: interactive data
The following extended descriptions are provided to assist people using screen readers. To download the data tables, visit Data.
Indigenous status, Age, Population group type, Point estimate (percent), 95% confidence interval
First Nations
40–49, 43, 26 to 62
50–59, 62, 45 to 77
60–69, 50, 39 to 61
70–79, 73, 60 to 83
80+, 63, 43 to 79
Non-Indigenous
50–59, 66, 46 to 82
60–69, 88, 83 to 92
70–79, 86, 79 to 92
80+, 92, 88 to 95
Indigenous status, Sex, Population group type, Point estimate (percent), 95% confidence interval
First Nations
Female, 52, 41 to 62
Male, 69, 57 to 79
Non-Indigenous
Female, 88, 83 to 92
Male, 88, 82 to 92
Foreman J, Xie J, Keel S, van Wijngaarden P, Sandhu SS, Ang GS , Gaskin JF, Crowston J, Bourne R, Taylor HR and Dirani M (2017) ‘The prevalence and causes of vision loss in Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians’, Ophthalmology, 124(12):1743–1752.