OBJECTIVES: Dysphagia commonly occurs following stroke and contributes to subsequent morbidity and mortality in stroke survivors with related substantial economical implications. Literature on the burden of this medical condition is scarce. This study aimed to identify the reported burden of dysphagia among stroke patients. METHODS: Epidemiological data were collected from publications in stroke and/or dysphagic patients and included prevalence of dysphagia and pneumonia, as its main complication. Economical data mainly included hospital length of stay, and pneumonia treatment costs. RESULTS: The data demonstrate stroke mostly occurs in people older than 65 years age (>75%). Prevalence and epidemiological figures varied widely from one publication to another. Indeed, up to 81% of stroke patients were diagnosed as dysphagic, depending on the method and time after stroke episode in which dysphagia is identified. Thus reportedly, up to 19.6 million stroke patients suffer dysphagia in North America and Europe. Studies identified that 40% to 50% of dysphagic stroke patients aspirate. In addition, pneumonia occurs in up to 51% of dysphagic stroke patients. Of course, dysphagic stroke patients who aspirate are at higher risk of pneumonia: up to 11-fold more than non aspirators. In Europe and North America, up to more than 10 million dysphagic stroke patients develop pneumonia. Furthermore hospital length of stay ranges from 5.07 to 10.55 days for stroke patients with dysphagia versus 3.26 to 4.74 days without dysphagia. The average hospital cost for pneumonia is $919 per day, totaling up to $96.5 billion in Europe and North America. CONCLUSIONS: The overall dysphagia burden is substantial worldwide, especially in Europe and North America. It is probably underestimated since only direct medical costs were included. However, it will most probably increase given the growing elderly population, which is at higher risk of having stroke.