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Health & wellbeingEpisode 296Globe 3D0:40

Adults with diabetes by country: top 10 in 2024

Adults aged 20 to 79 with diabetes in 2024, in millions

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Guess the number: adults with diabetes

250 M
0 M500 M
0:00 / 0:40

Source: International Diabetes Federation, Diabetes Atlas 11th edition · 2024

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The numbers
Answer at 0:36

10 on the list. The figures appear here once the clip gives the answer away.

Narration

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Runs 0:40.

How to read this chart: Beam length is the value; the scoreboard under the globe lists every country in rank order with its exact figure, the top spot sealed until the reveal. On the live chart, drag to spin the globe. More on globe 3d charts.

The takeaway

These ten countries hold 399 million of the world's 589 million adults with diabetes. Another major study ranks India first.

The data

The numbers

This clip asks you to guess first.

The numbers open when the clip reaches its answer, so they can't give it away.

Source: International Diabetes Federation, Diabetes Atlas 11th edition. Covering 2024.

What the numbers show

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that 589 million adults aged 20 to 79 were living with diabetes in 2024. Ten countries account for 399 million of them, roughly two in three. This clip ranks those ten by headcount, from 10.8 million adults at the bottom of the list to the leader at the top.

The countdown runs through Japan (10.8 million), Egypt (13.2 million), Mexico (13.6 million), Bangladesh (13.9 million), Brazil (16.6 million) and Indonesia (20.4 million). Above them are Pakistan with 34.5 million, the United States with 38.5 million and India with 89.8 million. The gaps are small near the bottom of the list, so the order of the lower places is the least certain part.

A count and a rate answer different questions. A country with a very large population will rank high in a count almost by default. Pakistan is fourth by headcount, yet 31.4 percent of its adults have diabetes once age is taken into account. Looking at both gives a fuller picture than either alone.

These are the figures from the IDF Diabetes Atlas, 11th edition, for 2024. They are modelled estimates of adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, not a head count of people who were tested. Where a country has no study of its own, the IDF fills the gap by using similar countries, so the numbers carry real uncertainty. The IDF also says that over 250 million people worldwide are unaware they have diabetes.

Other research counts differently. A Lancet study by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration looked at adults aged 18 and over in 2022. It counted 828 million adults with diabetes, about 212 million of them in India. That is far more than the IDF's figure for India, and it ranks the countries differently. The two lists use different ages, years and models, so they should not be mixed together. This clip follows the IDF, whose estimate is for the more recent year.

To compare fairly, look at ratios rather than decimals. The leader's count is well over one and a half times the runner-up's, and the runner-up's is more than double the United States'. These are 2024 estimates as published; a newer set of estimates would be a new story, not a correction to this one.

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Transcript

  1. An estimated 148 million adults in one country have diabetes. Guess which.

  2. In 2024, the estimates put Japan at 10.8 million. Egypt, Mexico and Bangladesh had 13 to 14 million each. Brazil and Indonesia had 17 to 20 million. Pakistan and the United States had 35 to 39 million. India had 89.8 million. China led with — 148 million.

  3. That's today's stat from NumberReels. Do you know someone living with diabetes, and what has helped them most? Comment your answer. Like, share and subscribe for more at numberreels.com.

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