Economic Impacts
Children in low- and middle-income countries lose an average of 5.9 IQ points due to lead exposure in early childhood, which translates to an estimated 12 per cent reduction in lifetime income. In 2019, the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation reported that lead exposure resulted in 21.7 million years of healthy life lost, measured in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs).
The long-term health impact has significant cumulative effects on national and global gross domestic product (GDP), underscoring the economic implications of lead exposure.
A World Bank analysis show that the health effects of lead exposure results in significant annual losses to the global economy, leading to a loss in productivity of at least US$1.4 trillion in global GDP (creating a 2.2 per cent drag on GDP in low- and middle-income countries).
Health effects of lead exposure based on country income levels, 1990-2017
Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). GBD 2017 Results Tool | GHDx. (2018) http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool
Note: EAP = East Asia and Pacific; ECA = Europe and Central Asia; LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean; MENA = Middle East and Northern Africa; SAR = South Asia; SSA = Sub-Saharan Africa
The World Bank’s 2023 assessment reveals that the global cost of lead exposure placed it as an environmental risk factor on par with PM2.5 ambient and household air pollution combined, and ahead of unsafe household drinking water, sanitation and handwashing.
Bottom line, lead exposure is harming economies, and only through comprehensive action from governments, civil society and the private sector can the issue be addressed.
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