The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has released new figures showing that 537 million adults are now living with diabetes worldwide — a rise of 16 per cent (74 million) since the previous IDF estimates in 2019.

These findings from the 10th Edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas, which will be published on December 6th, report that over 74 million adults in India are living with diabetes – or one in 12 adults. 

The number of people with diabetes in India is the second-highest in the world, after China (141 million). A further 40 million adults in India have Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT), which places them at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. 

More than half (53.1 per cent) of people living with diabetes in India are undiagnosed. When diabetes is undetected or inadequately treated, it can cause serious and life-threatening complications, such as heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and lower-limb amputation. These result in reduced quality of life and higher healthcare costs and lead to a greater need for access to care. 

“The increasing number of people living with diabetes and at risk of developing the condition in India confirms diabetes as a significant challenge to the health and wellbeing of individuals and families in the country,” says Prof Shashank Joshi, Chair, IDF South-East Asia Region.