--- title: Dementia: More Than 46 Million People Have Dementia Globally description: The number could double in the next 20 years if there is no medical breakthrough. canonical: https://time.com/4009643/46-million-dementia-alzheimers/ author: Tanya Basu article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-25T14:36:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:24:58.405Z article:section: Health og:title: More Than 46 Million People Have Dementia Worldwide og:description: And the number could double in the next 20 years og:url: https://time.com/4009643/46-million-dementia-alzheimers/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfca10d99a3255fde/698860bf5f570f931ab1d125/gettyimages-136104625.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4288 og:image:height: 2412 og:image:alt: 136104625 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: More Than 46 Million People Have Dementia Worldwide twitter:description: And the number could double in the next 20 years twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfca10d99a3255fde/698860bf5f570f931ab1d125/gettyimages-136104625.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Over 46 Million People Now Have Dementia Worldwide > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=6d5fcfb2-ecce-41f2-82c2-2f93b9127b25&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Aug 25, 2015 2:36 PM UTC  Senior man sitting on bench in garden Senior man sitting on bench in garden Getty Images  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Aug 25, 2015 2:36 PM UTC More than 46 million people around the world suffer from dementia, according to a report released Tuesday. [The World Alzheimer Report](http://www.worldalzreport2015.org/), published by [Alzheimer’s Disease International](http://www.alz.co.uk/) and [King’s College London](http://www.kcl.ac.uk/index.aspx), says the number of people affected by dementia has increased quickly from the 35 million estimated in 2009, and researchers warn that number could double in the next 20 years. Dementia is a collective term for progressive, degenerative brain syndromes affecting cognitive functions. Alzheimer’s disease is a common cause of dementia. The report also noted that 58% of all people with dementia reside in developing countries. By 2050, 68% of those with dementia will be located in low and middle income countries, where services are limited and populations are aging quickly. 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