I only discovered I’m aphan in my 70s, and believe the incidence is far larger than the 1-5% mentioned in the literature. I’m sure the numbers will grow as more people are familiar with the term — could be a large population are aphans but don’t know. It could be common, like colour blindness.
Hey Eddy, thanks for your question. Several studies have attempted to estimate the prevalence of aphantasia in the general population. Most of these studies, using different methods and samples, have found that approximately 1-5% of people experience aphantasia. Some studies include individuals with weak or low imagery abilities within their definition of aphantasia, while others focus solely on those with a complete inability to form mental images. Naturally, a broader definition would lead to higher prevalence estimates. Curiously, one study suggests that we may tend to overestimate the prevalence of aphantasia: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/rfzdt.
