Most people living with epilepsy could live without seizures on medicines that can cost a few dollars a year, yet in low-income countries about three in four of them are not treated.
Written from the sources listed below, not independently peer-reviewed.
Out of every 100 people living with epilepsy, up to how many could live seizure-free if they were properly diagnosed and treated?
about 50 million
People living with epilepsy
Epilepsy affects people of all ages and is one of the most common neurological diseases. Nearly 80% of people with epilepsy live in low- and middle-income countries.
Data year 2024. Source: World Health Organization, 2024
about 3 in 4
Treatment gap in low-income countries
About three quarters of people with epilepsy in low-income countries do not get the treatment they need. WHO's 2019 report put the gap above 75% in most low-income and above 50% in most middle-income countries.
Data year 2024. Source: World Health Organization, 2024
from US$5 a year
Cost of antiseizure medicines
Up to 70% of people with epilepsy could become seizure-free with treatment, and the medicines can cost as little as US$5 per person per year.
Data year 2019. Source: World Health Organization and International League Against Epilepsy / International Bureau for Epilepsy, 2019
Unit: physicians per 1,000 people
A proxy, not an epilepsy measure: no open global time series of the epilepsy treatment gap exists. Because most people with epilepsy can be diagnosed and treated in primary care, the number of doctors is one limit on closing the gap. World Bank aggregate of WHO workforce data for the low-income group; only the two most recent reported years are shown. The high-income group had 3.78 physicians per 1,000 people in 2022.
In 2022 WHO Member States adopted the Intersectoral global action plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders 2022–2031. Its two epilepsy targets are to raise service coverage for epilepsy by 50% from the 2021 level and to have 80% of countries develop or update laws that protect the rights of people with epilepsy, both by 2031. According to a summary of WHO's 2025 baseline report, average epilepsy service coverage was 49% in 2022, and only 25% of Member States (49 countries) reported having such legislation.
Nearly 80% of people with epilepsy live in low- and middle-income countries, where new cases are also more frequent: up to 139 people per 100,000 are diagnosed each year, compared with 49 per 100,000 in high-income countries.
Source: World Health Organization, 2024In low- and middle-income countries, generic antiseizure medicines are available in public health facilities on average less than half of the time.
Source: World Health Organization and International League Against Epilepsy / International Bureau for Epilepsy, 2019Low-income countries have up to 82 times fewer neurologists per 100,000 people than high-income countries, so most care has to come from general health workers.
Source: World Health Organization, 2025Stigma reaches into daily life and law: many children with epilepsy do not attend school, and adults are denied work, the right to drive or the right to marry.
Source: World Health Organization and International League Against Epilepsy / International Bureau for Epilepsy, 2019Each country is shaded by its latest available value, so you can see where the gap is widest. Hover or tap a country, search for one, or open the full table.
Loading country values…
Values in per 1,000 people.
A proxy, not an epilepsy measure: no open country dataset on epilepsy or its treatment gap exists, and modelled prevalence estimates could not be used because their licence does not allow redistribution. Darker countries have fewer doctors (generalists and specialists) per 1,000 people, which limits how many people with epilepsy can be diagnosed and treated. Latest year per country since 2013 (most are 2021–2023); counts of doctors do not show how many are trained in epilepsy care.
Source: WHO Global Health Workforce Statistics and OECD, via World Bank Open Data. Latest year available per country; years differ.
Values load from World Bank Open Data. Simplified Natural Earth borders; they imply no position on disputed territories.
Instead of one “percent solved” score, DO GOOD rates three separate dimensions. A problem can have mature solutions that still reach too few people. These ratings are an editorial reading of the sources on this page, not a measured index.
Has the situation improved in the real world?
LowThe treatment gap in low-income countries is still put at about three quarters, much the same as the above-75% figure in WHO's 2019 report, and there is no sign yet of a measurable global improvement.
How mature and validated are the available solutions?
HighCheap, long-established antiseizure medicines can make up to 70% of people seizure-free, and WHO states that most people can be diagnosed and treated in primary care without sophisticated equipment. The remaining people, whose seizures do not respond to medicines, have fewer and costlier options such as surgery.
How widely are effective solutions actually used?
LowAntiseizure medicines are available in public facilities of low- and middle-income countries less than half of the time, and only 25% of WHO Member States include neurological disorders in their universal health coverage benefit packages.
Treatment gap estimates rest on community studies from a limited number of places, and only 102 of 194 WHO Member States contributed data to the 2025 global report on neurology, so national and global figures are uncertain.
A global action plan with measurable epilepsy targets now exists, and WHO projects in Ghana, Mozambique, Myanmar and Viet Nam gave 6.5 million more people access to treatment. But WHO's 2025 report found that only 32% of Member States had a national policy on neurological disorders and 18% reported dedicated funding, so wider progress is slow.
Epilepsy is a long-term, noncommunicable disease of the brain in which bursts of excessive electrical activity in groups of brain cells cause repeated seizures. It affects people of all ages, around 50 million people worldwide, and between 4 and 10 of every 1,000 people have active epilepsy at any given time. A single seizure is not epilepsy: up to 10% of people have one seizure in their lifetime. Causes include brain damage before or around birth, severe head injuries, strokes and brain infections such as meningitis or neurocysticercosis, but in about half of all cases no cause is found. People living with epilepsy face a risk of premature death up to three times that of the general population, and many also live with anxiety, depression or other health conditions.
Treatment is effective and cheap. Up to 70% of people living with epilepsy could become seizure-free with antiseizure medicines, which can cost as little as US$5 a year, and most people can be diagnosed and treated in primary health care without sophisticated equipment. Yet nearly 80% of people with epilepsy live in low- and middle-income countries, and in low-income countries about three quarters of them do not get the treatment they need. Myths that epilepsy is contagious or incurable keep people from seeking care. Many children with epilepsy do not go to school, adults are denied jobs, driving licences or marriage, and in some countries the law still allows a marriage to be annulled because one partner has epilepsy.
Epilepsy is diagnosed clinically, mainly from a description of the seizures, and is counted in population surveys, health records and modelled estimates. The main measures are:
Active epilepsy
People who have epilepsy and have had seizures recently or are taking medicine for them. WHO puts the share of the population with active epilepsy at 4 to 10 per 1,000 at any given time. One seizure on its own does not count as epilepsy.
Treatment gap
The share of people with active epilepsy who need treatment but do not receive it. Many countries have no recent national estimate, so global figures are broad: WHO reports gaps above 75% in most low-income countries and above 50% in most middle-income countries.
Service coverage
Under WHO's action plan for 2022–2031, countries report how many people with epilepsy are reached by services, so that the target of raising coverage by 50% can be tracked. The first global baselines, for 2022, were published in 2025 with data from 102 of 194 WHO Member States.
The 90-80-70 cascade
The action plan's indicators follow people through care: by 2031, 90% of people with epilepsy should know they have a treatable brain disorder, 80% should have access to affordable, safe antiseizure medicines, and 70% of those treated should have their seizures adequately controlled.
What works
Long-established generic antiseizure medicines control seizures for most people, and treatment can cost as little as US$5 a year. Up to 70% of people with epilepsy could become seizure-free with the right medicine.
Limits
Medicines only help if they are reliably in stock: in low- and middle-income countries they are available in the public sector less than half of the time. Treatment usually lasts years, so supply interruptions and out-of-pocket costs weigh heavily on households.
What works
Most people with epilepsy can be diagnosed and treated by trained general health workers, and WHO's mental health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) provides guidance for this. WHO-supported projects that trained primary care staff in Ghana, Mozambique, Myanmar and Viet Nam gave 6.5 million more people access to epilepsy treatment.
Limits
Primary care workers need training, supervision, referral routes for complex cases and a steady supply of medicines. Where doctors and nurses are scarce overall, adding epilepsy care competes with many other priorities.
What works
Including epilepsy care in universal health coverage packages removes the cost barrier for families. A study from India cited by WHO found that public financing of both first- and second-line treatment is cost-effective.
Limits
Only 25% of WHO Member States (49 countries) include neurological disorders in their universal health coverage benefit packages, and only 18% report dedicated funding for neurological disorders.
What works
An estimated 25% of epilepsy cases are preventable. Measures include preventing head injuries from falls, road traffic crashes and sport, good care around birth, and controlling infections such as neurocysticercosis and meningitis.
Limits
Most of these measures sit outside health services, in road safety, maternal care, sanitation and vaccination, so they depend on coordination across sectors. In about half of all cases the cause of epilepsy is unknown and cannot yet be prevented.
What works
Awareness campaigns and laws that protect the rights of people with epilepsy, for example in education, work and marriage, address the myths and discrimination that keep people from seeking care. The 2022 action plan sets the goal that 80% of countries will have developed or updated such legislation by 2031.
Limits
At the 2022 baseline only about a quarter of Member States reported such laws, often as part of general legislation rather than specific to epilepsy, and laws alone do not change attitudes in families and communities.
Promising, but not proven at scale. The stage shows how far each approach has come; it is not a recommendation.
The 2022 action plan asks countries to measure how many people with epilepsy know their diagnosis (target 90%), have access to affordable medicines (80%) and achieve seizure control on treatment (70%). WHO published the first global baselines in 2025, but only 102 of 194 Member States contributed data, so routine tracking is still in its early stages.
Some countries now give people living with epilepsy a formal role in shaping the laws and services that affect them. At the 2022 baseline, fewer than half (47%) of the countries with rights-protecting legislation reported such provisions, and there is little evidence yet on how much this changes services or stigma.
WHO notes that surgery may help people whose seizures respond poorly to medicines. It depends on specialists, and low-income countries have up to 82 times fewer neurologists per 100,000 people than high-income countries, so for most people in these countries it is not yet an option.
Implementation gap
In low- and middle-income countries, antiseizure medicines are available in public health facilities less than half of the time, even though they are cheap. Weak procurement and supply chains turn a low-cost treatment into an unreliable one.
Implementation gap
Low-income countries have up to 82 times fewer neurologists per 100,000 people than high-income countries, and the low-income group had only about 0.34 doctors of any kind per 1,000 people in 2022. Care therefore depends on training general health workers, which needs sustained investment.
Coordination gap
Beliefs that epilepsy is contagious or incurable keep people isolated and away from treatment, and some laws still allow a marriage to be annulled or a driving licence to be withheld because of epilepsy.
Coordination gap
WHO's 2025 report found that only 32% of Member States had a national policy addressing neurological disorders, and only 18% reported dedicated funding for them, leaving epilepsy care without a clear owner or budget in most countries.
Knowledge gap
Only 102 of 194 WHO Member States contributed data to the 2025 global report on neurology, and treatment gap estimates come from scattered community studies, so it is hard to tell where the gap is shrinking.
Technology gap
Up to 70% of people could become seizure-free on medicines, which leaves a substantial minority whose seizures continue despite treatment. For them the options, such as surgery, are scarce and expensive, and in about half of all cases the underlying cause is not known.
Unresolved questions, not vetted breakthroughs. Answering any of them would change what is possible.
Most treatment gap figures come from a few community surveys. Which simple, repeatable methods could give countries reliable national estimates and show whether the gap is closing?
Antiseizure medicines are cheap but often missing from public facilities. Which procurement, financing and supply models keep them reliably available in low-income settings, and at what cost?
Which combinations of community education, school programmes and legal reform measurably change attitudes and lead more people with epilepsy to seek and stay in treatment?
The cause is unknown in about half of all people with epilepsy. How much of this is due to undiagnosed infections, injuries or genetic factors, and how much of it could be prevented?
Most seizures stop on their own. Knowing to stay calm, keep the person safe from injury, turn them on their side afterwards, not put anything in their mouth, and call for help if a seizure lasts long or repeats can make a real difference to someone near you.
Say "a person living with epilepsy" rather than labels, and correct the belief that epilepsy is contagious or incurable when you hear it. Including colleagues and classmates with epilepsy helps counter the exclusion they often face.
Groups that train primary health workers, secure medicine supplies or support people with epilepsy in low-income countries rely on donations. Look for organisations that publish their results and costs before you give.
Few countries have a policy or budget for neurological disorders. Letting elected representatives know that you support including epilepsy care in public health coverage and in global health funding is one way to add pressure.
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World Health Organization (7 February 2024), published 2024
WHO's current overview of epilepsy. Source of the 50 million people, nearly 80% in low- and middle-income countries, the three-quarters treatment gap in low-income countries, up to 70% seizure-free, up to three times the risk of premature death, 4–10 per 1,000 with active epilepsy, up to 10% with a single lifetime seizure, incidence of 49 vs up to 139 per 100,000, unknown cause in about 50%, 25% preventable, causes, primary care diagnosis, the India cost-effectiveness study, the 6.5 million people reached in four countries, stopping medicine after two seizure-free years, surgery, stigma and discriminatory laws, and the adoption of the action plan.
World Health Organization and International League Against Epilepsy / International Bureau for Epilepsy (2019), published 2019
Summary of WHO's first global report on epilepsy, hosted by ILAE. Source of the cost of medicines (as little as US$5 a year), treatment gaps above 75% in most low-income and above 50% in most middle-income countries, availability of antiseizure medicines less than 50% of the time in the public sector of LMICs, and the examples of exclusion from school, work, driving and marriage.
World Health Organization (14 October 2025), published 2025
WHO's release on the first Global status report on neurology (2025), which sets 2022 baselines for the action plan's targets. Source of the 102 of 194 Member States reporting, national policies in 32% (63 countries), dedicated funding in 18% (34 countries), neurological disorders in UHC packages in 25% (49 countries), and up to 82 times fewer neurologists per 100,000 people in low-income countries.
International League Against Epilepsy (31 May 2022), published 2022
Report on the adoption of the Intersectoral global action plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders 2022–2031 by the World Health Assembly on 27 May 2022. Source of the two epilepsy targets (50% higher service coverage; legislation in 80% of countries) and the 90-80-70 cascade indicators.
Infocop, Consejo General de la Psicología de España (30 January 2026), published 2026
Spanish-language summary of WHO's Global status report on neurology (2025), used because the WHO report PDF could not be opened. Source of the 2022 baselines for the epilepsy targets: average service coverage of 49% and rights-protecting legislation in 25% of Member States (49 countries), often within general laws.
World Bank Open Data, from WHO Global Health Workforce Statistics and OECD, published 2026
Source of the trend (physicians per 1,000 people in the low-income country group: 0.33 in 2010 and 0.34 in 2022), the high-income group value for 2022 (3.78), and the map layer.
DO GOOD International (2026). Closing the Epilepsy Treatment Gap. Global Challenges. Updated October 15, 2026. https://www.dogood.world/challenges/epilepsy
For figures, please cite the original sources listed above.