International Contact Lens Prescribing in 2025

Our 25th consecutive annual survey reveals trends in global contact lens prescribing.

By: PHILIP B. MORGAN, PHD, MCOPTOM, CRAIG A. WOODS, PHD, MCOPTOM, IOANNIS G. TRANOUDIS, DO, MSC, PHD, NATHAN EFRON, AC, DSC, PHD, Lyndon Jones, PHD, DSC, FCOPTOM, PAULA FACCIA, PHD, DORIS RIVADENEIRA, OD, IACLE, CHRISTINA N. GRUPCHEVA, MD, PHD, DEBORAH JONES, BSC, FCOPTOM, AMOND ADSERSEN, MSC, OPTOM, JACINTO SANTODOMINGO-RUBIDO, OD(EC), MSC, PHD, MCOPTOM, Yip Siu Lai Queenie, Thomas Chuen Lam, PhD, MIHÁLY VÉGH, MD, PHD, NIR ERDINEST, BOPTOM, PHD, GIANCARLO MONTANI, DIPOPTOM, Yuichi Hori, JOLANTA BENDORIENE, MD, PHD, Karola Panke, PhD, RICARDO PINTOR, L.OPT, ANN ELISABETH YSTENÆS, BSC, MSCOPTOM, Jagrut Lallu, MSc Specialty Lenses, Bottom, JEANETTE ROMUALDEZ-OO, OD, CARMEN ABESAMIS-DICHOSO, OD, RUTE J. MACEDO-DE-ARAÚJO, PHD, OSKAR JOHANSSON, BSC, JOHN HSIAO, BA, OD, JASON J. NICHOLS, OD, MPH, PhD

Contact Lens Spectrum January 1, 2026 Vol 41, Issue January-February 2026 Page(s): 16-18,20-22,24

5 Key Takeaways

1

In 2025, data from 24 countries reported 11,264 contact lens fits, with Japan and the Philippines contributing over 1,000 fits each.
2

The average age at fitting was 34.7 years, with refit patients averaging 37 years for soft lenses and 44 years for rigid lenses.
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Soft lenses comprised 88% of fits, with daily disposables accounting for 44% and monthly lenses for 29% of soft lens prescriptions.
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Silicone hydrogel materials were the most prescribed soft lens type at 78%, with half of all soft lenses being spherical.
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Multifocal lens designs represented 17% of soft lens fits in 2025, indicating a growing trend among presbyopic patients.

Doris Rivadeneira

Specialties: Optometry

Bio: Doris Rivadeneira, OD, IACLE, is an optometry author whose work includes international contact lens prescribing trends. She was a coauthor of Contact Lens Spectrum’s 2026 report on global contact lens prescribing in 2025, a 25th consecutive annual survey analyzing contact lens fitting patterns across multiple countries and regions.

Amond Adsersen

Specialties: Optometry

Bio: Amond Adsersen, MSc, Optom, is an optometry professional who contributes to Contact Lens Spectrum’s annual International Contact Lens Prescribing report. The report documents global contact lens fitting trends, including prescribing patterns, lens materials, replacement frequency, wearing modality, and patient demographics.

Jacinto Santodomingo-Rubido

Specialties: Optometry

Bio: Jacinto Santodomingo-Rubido, OD(EC), MSc, PhD, MCOptom, is an optometry author with a focus on contact lens prescribing. He coauthored Contact Lens Spectrum’s 2026 international report on contact lens prescribing trends, which summarizes global survey data on contact lens fitting patterns, lens materials, designs, replacement frequency, and wearing modality.

Nir Erdinest

Specialties: Optometry

Bio: Nir Erdinest, BOptom, PhD, is an optometry and vision science researcher with a focus on contact lenses, myopia management, anterior eye disease, and visual rehabilitation. He is a contributor to international contact lens prescribing research and has published on topics including scleral lenses, keratoconus, ocular trauma rehabilitation, and atropine treatment strategies for myopia management. His recent publications include clinical studies, case reports, and commentaries addressing contact lens-based rehabilitation, anterior segment and ocular surface conditions, ophthalmic surgical techniques, and population-level ophthalmology database analyses.

Giancarlo Montani

Bio: Giancarlo Montani, DipOptom, is an optometry author whose work focuses on contact lens prescribing, contact lens materials, and ocular surface care. He is a coauthor of the Contact Lens Spectrum international contact lens prescribing report, which tracks global patterns in lens fitting, materials, replacement frequency, and wearing modality. His recent publications address post-market surveillance of a tyrosine-releasing contact lens, the relationship between contact lens material properties and discomfort, artificial tears and tear-film stability, and broader contact lens topics including presbyopia optics and scleral lenses.

Jeanette Romualdez-Oo

Specialties: Optometry

Bio: Jeanette Romualdez-Oo, OD, is an optometrist and contributing author to Contact Lens Spectrum. Her work in the available source is associated with international contact lens prescribing trends and global contact lens fitting data.

Carmen Abesamis-Dichoso

Specialties: Optometry

Bio: Carmen Abesamis-Dichoso, OD, is an optometrist whose documented work includes authorship in Contact Lens Spectrum on international contact lens prescribing trends. She contributed to a global annual survey report examining contact lens fitting patterns, patient demographics, lens materials, designs, replacement schedules, wearing modalities, and care system recommendations across multiple markets.

Jason J. Nichols

Specialties: Contact lenses

Bio: Jason J. Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, contributes to Contact Lens Spectrum’s international contact lens prescribing survey, which reports global trends in contact lens fitting. His work in the source article addresses prescribing patterns including lens material, design, replacement frequency, wearing modality, anticipated wearing period, and recommended care systems.

Mihály Végh

Specialties: Contact lenses

Bio: Mihály Végh is a contributor to the Contact Lens Spectrum international contact lens prescribing report, a recurring global survey that documents contact lens fitting trends across countries and regions. His work in the source article is associated with contact lens prescribing data collection and analysis.

AOCNP

Specialties: Oncology

Bio: AOCNP is listed as an author of a 2026 JADPRO Practice Matters article on collaboration between medical science liaisons and advanced practice providers in oncology care. The article focuses on how these partnerships support clinical research, medical education, and insight gathering to help translate scientific advances into oncology practice.

PentaVision

Contact Lens Spectrum

International Contact Lens Prescribing in 2025

5 Key Takeaways

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