numbers per 100,000
(Numbers per 100,000)
England
and Wales
Republic of Ireland
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Norway
– north
Norway - south
Sweden
Demark
Faroe Islands
Finland – western
Finland
– southern
Iceland
Germany
Switzerland
Austria
Netherlands
Belgium
France
Luxembourg
Italy
Poland – western
Poland - northern
Czech Republic
Hungary
Spain
Portugal
Sicily
Sardinia
Malta
Slovenia
Croatia
Romania
Bulgaria
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Greece
Cyprus
Turkey
Russia
Canada
USA – over all
Brazil
Mexico
Latin
USA – Cuba
Latin USA – Uruguay
Argentina
Siberia
India – Bombay only
China – Taiwan
China
– Hong Kong
Japan
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Tunisia
and Libya
Israel
Canary Islands
South Africa – white
South Africa
– Afrikaners
South Africa – black
Australia
New Zealand
66
138
134 – 287
21 – 37
75 – 132
134
112
66
98
52
105
85 - 108
110
22 – 44
94
74
28 – 85
94
88
45
77
97
32 – 79
32 – 76
50
45 – 61
144 – 152
4
83
28 – 40
27 – 42
30 – 43
16
10
46
46
46
25 – 55
90
46
4
8
5
30
13
12 – 41
1
1
1
1 – 4
4 – 8
10
10
29 – 80
6 – 15
13
4
3
11
81
.........
.........
85,000
N. & S:
3,800
12,000
6,000
?
W. & S:
5,000
285
110,000
?
7,000
15,000
8,900
50,000
400
50,000
W. & N:
30,000
10,000
6,600
30,000
5,000
?
?
?
?
?
7,500
3,200
?
?
5,000
350
30,000
?
35,000
250,000
7,000
8,000
?
?
5,000
?
?
?
50
5,000
?
?
290
4,500
?
over all:
..........
1,500
12,000
3,000
The main message from this examination of worldwide MS prevalence is the impact of genetic factors on the development of the condition.
MS is rare in certain ethnic populations (China, Japan, African blacks). Higher risks of MS in other populations (Sardinia, Scotland, African whites when compared to Afrikaners), suggests that different ethnic groups have differing levels of susceptibility.
These differences may partly explain the uneven geographic distribution of the condition. The geography of MS might therefore be explained by the distribution of genetic susceptibility, which is then modified and influenced by factors in the environment.
