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Adults

As of 2019, one in three or 33% of the world population were estimated to have hypertension. Of all people with hypertension, about 46% do not have a diagnosis of hypertension and are unaware that they have the condition. In 1975, almost 600 million people had a diagnosis of hypertension, a number which increased to 1.13 billion by 2015 mostly due to risk factors for hypertension increasing in low- and middle-income countries.

Hypertension is slightly more frequent in men. In people aged under 50 years, more men than women have hypertension, and in ages above 50 years the prevalence of hypertension is the same in men and women. In ages above 65 years, more women than men have hypertension. Hypertension becomes more common with age. Hypertension is common in high, medium, and low-income countries. It is more common in people of low socioeconomic status. Hypertension is around twice as common in diabetics.

In 2019, rates of diagnosed hypertension were highest in Africa (30% for both sexes), and lowest in the Americas (18% for both sexes). Rates also vary markedly within regions with country-level rates as low as 22.8% (men) and 18.4% (women) in Peru and as high as 61.6% (men) and 50.9% (women) in Paraguay.

In 1995 it was estimated that 24% of the United States population had hypertension or were taking antihypertensive medication. By 2004 this had increased to 29% and further to 32% (76 million US adults) by 2017. In 2017, with the American guidelines' change in definition for hypertension, 46% of people in the United States are affected. African-American adults in the United States have among the highest rates of hypertension in the world at 44%. Differences in hypertension rates are multifactorial and under study.