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Background and Aims: Acute hepatitis E (AHE) is still a public health issue worldwide. Here, we report the global burden of AHE in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019 by age, sex and socio‐demographic index (SDI), and predict the future trends to 2030. Methods: Data on AHE were collected from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study 2019. The average annual percentage change (AAPC) and joinpoint analysis were used to determine the burden trend. Results: In 2019, there were 19.47 million (95% UI, 16.04 to 23.37 million) incident cases of AHE globally, with a 19% increase since 1990. Age‐standardized rate (ASR) of disability‐adjusted life years (DALYs), prevalent and incident cases declined from 1990 to 2019. In 2019, the ASR of incidence, prevalence and DALYs due to HEV infection were highest in the same regions of South Asia for both sexes. Southern Sub‐Saharan Africa presented the highest increases in the ASR for incidence of HEV infection in both males (AAPC =.25) and females (AAPC =.24) from 1990 to 2019. Incident cases are higher in males than females before 55–59 years old. The SDI values were negatively correlated with the age‐standardized DALYs. Between 2019 and 2030, the ASR for incidence and prevalence of HEV for both sexes showed an increasing trend. Conclusions: Although the overall ASR of AHE decreased, the burden of AHE remains an underappreciated problem for society. The findings may provide useful information for policymakers to develop appropriate strategies aimed at reducing the burden of AHE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]