UK lens sector at the top of European sales

More ophthalmic lenses were sold in the UK last year than any other country in Europe, according to figures released to Optician Online by consultancy Strategy with Vision (Swv).

An estimated 29.2 million lenses were sold in the UK, compared to 28.7m in Germany and 25.5m for France. These results are particularly impressive given these countries' respective populations of 59.8m, 82m and 60.4m.

Legislative changes in Germany are at the root of a fall in volume there, but Swv said that it would take until 2008 for Germany to return to the sales levels of 2002, the last 'normal' year on record.

The UK lens sector has been growing at a steady pace for about four years now. According to Swv, the future looks bright for the market as a whole with a growing population, particularly in the over-45 age bracket.