About 11.4 million people around the world developed dementia in 2023, and that yearly number could reach 24.7 million by 2050, according to an international analysis published in JAMA Neurology. The 2050 figure is a model-based projection, not a count, and it is meant to guide planning rather than predict any one person's risk.
The study, led by researchers at UNSW Sydney's Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), pooled data from 38,418 people in 22 population-based studies across 18 countries and territories on six continents. Over more than 287,000 person-years of follow-up, 3,001 participants developed dementia.
