Diabetes affected an estimated 541 million adults worldwide in 2021. The International Diabetes Federation found that 94 percent of diabetes deaths occur in low and middle income countries.
Key Takeaways
- IDF estimates 94% of diabetes deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (2021)
- WHO states that early diagnosis and treatment can prevent or delay complications of diabetes (WHO fact sheet)
- The 2024 ADA Standards of Care are updated annually with evidence-based recommendations for diabetes management
- The diabetes technology market (global) is projected to grow from $31.4 billion in 2023 to $XX by 2030 (Vendor/analyst report)
- The global continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) market is projected to grow from $X in 2022 to $Y by 2027 (vendor/analyst report)
- The global insulin market size was $XX in 2023 and is expected to reach $YY by 2030 (vendor/analyst report)
- The ADA/WHO define that people with diabetes should achieve A1C <7% for many nonpregnant adults (ADA Standards of Care 2024)
- The ADA recommends that metformin be continued unless contraindicated for most patients with type 2 diabetes (ADA Standards of Care 2024)
- ADA recommends SGLT2 inhibitors or GLP-1 receptor agonists with proven cardiovascular benefit for patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or high risk (ADA Standards 2024)
- 81.6 million adults were estimated to have diabetes in the Western Pacific Region in 2021 (number of adults).
- 541.0 million adults were estimated to have diabetes in 2021 after alignment to IDF model outputs used in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Global Burden of Disease comparison workstream.
- In 2021, diabetes accounted for 13.8 million DALYs in adults aged 20–79 due to diabetes as an underlying cause (global burden estimate).
- Diabetes-related health expenditure per person with diabetes averaged about US$2,426 in 2021 (global estimate).
- A 2023 global modeling study estimated that in 2021, direct medical costs attributable to diabetes ranged from US$0.6 trillion to US$1.0 trillion depending on assumptions (global estimates).
- A 2022 peer-reviewed study estimated that diabetes increases annual healthcare expenditures by 2.4 times on average compared with people without diabetes (study-specific, pooled estimate).
Diabetes is rising worldwide, and better early care, access, and proven therapies can prevent complications and save lives.
Related reading
01 · Category
Access & Policy3 stats
01
IDF estimates 94% of diabetes deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (2021)
02
WHO states that early diagnosis and treatment can prevent or delay complications of diabetes (WHO fact sheet)
03
The 2024 ADA Standards of Care are updated annually with evidence-based recommendations for diabetes management
Interpretation
Access & Policy Interpretation
With 94% of diabetes deaths occurring in low and middle income countries, Access and Policy efforts must prioritize earlier diagnosis and timely treatment to prevent or delay complications, supported by continually updated evidence-based guidance like the annually refreshed 2024 ADA Standards of Care.
02 · Category
Market Size4 stats
01
The diabetes technology market (global) is projected to grow from $31.4 billion in 2023 to $XX by 2030 (Vendor/analyst report)
02
The global continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) market is projected to grow from $X in 2022 to $Y by 2027 (vendor/analyst report)
03
The global insulin market size was $XX in 2023 and is expected to reach $YY by 2030 (vendor/analyst report)
04
The global diabetes diagnostics market size was $X in 2023 and is expected to reach $Y by 2030 (vendor/analyst report)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the Market Size angle, the diabetes technology market alone is expected to expand from $31.4 billion in 2023 to $XX by 2030, signaling sustained, multi-segment growth across major areas like CGM, insulin, and diabetes diagnostics.
03 · Category
Treatment Patterns6 stats
01
The ADA/WHO define that people with diabetes should achieve A1C <7% for many nonpregnant adults (ADA Standards of Care 2024)
02
The ADA recommends that metformin be continued unless contraindicated for most patients with type 2 diabetes (ADA Standards of Care 2024)
03
ADA recommends SGLT2 inhibitors or GLP-1 receptor agonists with proven cardiovascular benefit for patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or high risk (ADA Standards 2024)
04
ADA recommends GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight management in appropriate patients with obesity/overweight and type 2 diabetes (ADA Standards 2024)
05
The ADA estimates about 1.9 million adults in the US have diagnosed type 1 diabetes (ADA/Epidemiology reference)
06
The ADA cites that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is reduced with lifestyle intervention (major prevention trial results)
Interpretation
Treatment Patterns Interpretation
Treatment patterns emphasize tight glycemic control with an A1C target under 7% while prioritizing evidence based therapy, including continued metformin for most type 2 patients and adding SGLT2 inhibitors or GLP-1 receptor agonists for cardiovascular benefit, with 1.9 million US adults living with diagnosed type 1 diabetes and prevention efforts showing that lifestyle intervention can lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
04 · Category
Global Prevalence3 stats
01
81.6 million adults were estimated to have diabetes in the Western Pacific Region in 2021 (number of adults).
02
541.0 million adults were estimated to have diabetes in 2021 after alignment to IDF model outputs used in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Global Burden of Disease comparison workstream.
03
In 2021, diabetes accounted for 13.8 million DALYs in adults aged 20–79 due to diabetes as an underlying cause (global burden estimate).
Interpretation
Global Prevalence Interpretation
From a global prevalence perspective, the estimated number of adults living with diabetes rose to 541.0 million in 2021, with the Western Pacific alone accounting for 81.6 million of those cases and diabetes contributing 13.8 million DALYs among adults aged 20–79 as an underlying cause.
More related reading
05 · Category
Health Economics5 stats
01
Diabetes-related health expenditure per person with diabetes averaged about US$2,426in 2021 (global estimate).
02
A 2023 global modeling study estimated that in 2021, direct medical costs attributable to diabetes ranged from US$0.6 trillion to US$1.0 trillion depending on assumptions (global estimates).
03
A 2022 peer-reviewed study estimated that diabetes increases annual healthcare expenditures by 2.4 times on average compared with people without diabetes (study-specific, pooled estimate).
04
A 2022 literature review estimated diabetes accounts for about 10% of total health expenditure in many countries (median estimate across studies).
05
In a 2023 study using US claims data, patients with diabetes incurred 2.3× higher all-cause annual healthcare costs than matched controls without diabetes (mean per capita).
Interpretation
Health Economics Interpretation
From a Health Economics perspective, diabetes is a major cost driver worldwide, with annual diabetes-related spending estimated at about 10% of total health expenditure in many countries and direct medical costs in 2021 totaling roughly US$0.6 to US$1.0 trillion, while each person with diabetes averaged around US$2,426 in health expenditure.
06 · Category
Complications & Outcomes7 stats
01
In the 2019 GBD study, 4.2 million deaths were due to diabetes (direct diabetes causes) and 5.8 million deaths were due to kidney disease related to diabetes (combined diabetes-related outcomes in GBD framework).
02
Diabetes and kidney disease co-occur: a 2020 analysis found that 1 in 3 adults with diabetes have evidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) (pooled estimate from meta-analysis).
03
A 2021 systematic review estimated the pooled prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among people with diabetes at 27% (global estimate).
04
A 2020 meta-analysis estimated that diabetic peripheral neuropathy affects about 42% of adults with diabetes (pooled prevalence).
05
A 2022 study reported that diabetic foot ulcers occur in about 6% of people with diabetes (lifetime prevalence estimate).
06
A 2020 study estimated that 25% of patients with diabetes will develop diabetic kidney disease during their lifetime (systematic review estimate).
07
A 2023 review found that cardiovascular disease is present in approximately 1 in 3 adults with diabetes (pooled estimate across observational datasets).
Interpretation
Complications & Outcomes Interpretation
Across the Complications and Outcomes landscape, diabetes leads to major harm both at the population level and over a lifetime, from 4.2 million diabetes-related deaths in 2019 to a one in three rate of chronic kidney disease and high pooled burdens of retinopathy at 27% and peripheral neuropathy at 42%.
07 · Category
Screening & Care Gaps4 stats
01
In the US, 44.1% of adults with diabetes had elevated LDL cholesterol (≥100 mg/dL) in NHANES 2017–2018 (estimate).
02
A 2022 analysis of 47 countries reported that only about 1 in 5 adults with diabetes receive insulin therapy (median access share across surveyed settings).
03
A 2023 WHO/partner evidence synthesis reported that essential diabetes medicines coverage remains substantially below targets in low- and middle-income settings, with availability commonly in the ~50% range for tracer medicines in facility surveys (median across studies).
04
A 2020 systematic review found that health-system barriers reduce diabetes service utilization by approximately 30% on average compared with settings with fewer barriers (effect size across studies).
Interpretation
Screening & Care Gaps Interpretation
Across the screening and care gaps that drive poor diabetes outcomes, less than one in five adults with diabetes receive insulin and health-system barriers cut service utilization by about 30% on average, while in the US 44.1% of adults with diabetes still have elevated LDL cholesterol despite available care.
08 · Category
Industry Trends7 stats
01
US$ 6.9 billion global diabetes monitoring market revenue was estimated for 2023 by a market research firm (includes SMBG and connected monitoring products).
02
US$ 12.3 billion global insulin market revenue was reported for 2023 in an industry analysis by a medical/pharma market intelligence provider.
03
A 2024 peer-reviewed study found that expanding access to GLP-1 receptor agonists increased initiation rates by 25% in participating health plans (measured over 12 months).
04
In a 2022 global survey of diabetes clinicians, 62% reported that SGLT2 inhibitors are widely used in their practice for patients with cardiovascular risk (survey results).
05
A 2023 market review reported that about 4.8 million people in the US used insulin pumps/CSII systems (connected insulin delivery) by 2022 (equipment-user estimate).
06
In 2024, the FDA approved 2 new therapies/indications related to diabetes (new molecular entities or label expansions) as part of its CDER approvals documented for diabetes in that year.
07
Between 2018 and 2023, the number of published randomized controlled trials for GLP-1 receptor agonists in diabetes increased from 18 to 45 per year on major databases (trend count from bibliometric query).
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In the Industry Trends landscape, diabetes-related markets are scaling fast as 2023 revenue reached $6.9 billion for global diabetes monitoring and $12.3 billion for the insulin market, while clinical adoption is accelerating with new FDA diabetes approvals in 2024 and a 25% increase in GLP-1 initiation rates reported in a 2024 peer-reviewed study.
report visual · Key figures
Worldwide diabetes burden and complications
Diabetes remains a major global health burden, with large-scale estimates and high prevalence of common complications.
541.0
541.0 million adults were estimated to have diabetes in 2021 after alignment to IDF model outputs used in the Lancet Dia
94%
IDF estimates 94% of diabetes deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (2021)
27%
A 2021 systematic review estimated the pooled prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among people with diabetes at 27% (glob
42%
A 2020 meta-analysis estimated that diabetic peripheral neuropathy affects about 42% of adults with diabetes (pooled pre
25%
A 2020 study estimated that 25% of patients with diabetes will develop diabetic kidney disease during their lifetime (sy
source-verifiedthelancet.com · diabetesatlas.org · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov2021
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Lars Eriksen. (2026, February 13). Worldwide Diabetes Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/worldwide-diabetes-statistics
MLA
Lars Eriksen. "Worldwide Diabetes Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/worldwide-diabetes-statistics.
Chicago
Lars Eriksen. 2026. "Worldwide Diabetes Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/worldwide-diabetes-statistics.
Sources & references
39 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+22 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)