Type 1 Diabetes Statistics

8.7 million people around the world live with type 1 diabetes. Diagnoses have been increasing at four times the rate of global population growth. An additional 3.9 million people would still be alive today if everyone had access to a timely diagnosis and sufficient ongoing care, medications, supplies and diabetes management education. (source: T1DIndex.org)

Statistics are an important tool. They allow advocates to illustrate the true impact of inequitable access to care and supplies. They allow researchers to focus their studies on key places that are getting impacted. They show governments how many people need vital healthcare.

And they remind us that, even though we’re each dealing with type 1 diabetes every day—we are part of a global community being impacted by the same disease but with drastically different levels of care.

United States 

• Approximately 1.45 million Americans have type 1 diabetes.
• By 2040, 2.1 million people are expected to be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The disease is growing at a rate of 2.9 percent per year, versus the population growth of 0.8 percent per year.
• An estimated 64,000 people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes each year.
• 200,000 people under the age of 20 years old have type 1 diabetes.
• Between 2011 and 2012, 17,900 children and adolescents under the age of 20 were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
• There was a 21 percent increase in people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes between 2001 and 2009 under the age of 20.
• By 2050, 600,000 people under the age of 20 are expected to have type 1 diabetes.
• There are $16 billion in type 1 diabetes-associated healthcare expenditures and lost income each year.
• Less than a third of people with type 1 diabetes consistently achieve target blood-glucose control levels.
• Preliminary data from T1International’s 2018 access and supply survey says one of every four US respondents has rationed insulin due to cost.

United Kingdom

• An estimated of one in every 430-530 people under the age of 19 have type 1 diabetes.
• Out of 3.7 million people living with diabetes, DiabetesUK estimates that 10 percent have type 1 diabetes.
• That translates to about 400,000 people.
• 29,000 of those living with type 1 diabetes are children.
• The U.K. was ranked fifth among countries regarding rate of incidence of type 1 diabetes among children ages 0-14 with a rate of 24.5 out of 100,000.
• The average diabetes cost share per month is 1.4 percent, according to responses received for T1International’s 2016 survey.

Canada

• Over 300,000 Canadians live with type 1 diabetes.
• Of those living with type 1 diabetes, 33,000 are children ages 5-18.
• The rate of incidence of type 1 among children 1-9 years old increased over a 10-year period from 1998-2009 from 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent.
• Canada was listed 10th among countries according to rates of incidence of type 1 diabetes among children.
• The rate of incidence of type 1 among children ages 0-14 is nearly 22 out of 100,000.
• There is a prevalence rate of 0.3 percent of type 1 among children and adolescents ages 0-19.
• Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is found 15 to 67 percent of the time when type 1 is diagnosed.
• In children under 5 years old, boys were found to be more likely to be affected by type 1 than girls, according to the Government of Canada.
• Check out the Beyond Type 1 Canada page for more information about support and resources!

New Zealand

• Worldwide, the rate of incidence of type 1 diabetes is increasing, and this trend also affects New Zealand. Over the last 25 years, the rate of incidence went up by over 12 percent.
• The rate of incidence went up from 10.9 per 100,000 among children aged 0-14 years in 1990 to 22.5 per 100,000 in 2009, according to a 2012 study.
• The New Zealand Medical Journal published a 2015 study concluding that of all types of diabetes, type 1 is most likely to affect the younger population, “irrespective of ethnicity and socioeconomic status.”
• Diabetes New Zealand offers multiple resources for regional support on the North and South Islands.
• Check out the Beyond Type 1 New Zealand page for more information!

Mexico

• From 2000 to 2010, the rate of incidence of type 1 diabetes increased from 3.4 to 6.2 per 100,000 among the population under 19 years old.
• Children ages 10-14 and adolescents ages 15-19 experienced the highest increase in rates of diagnosis for type 1.
• The male population under 5 years old and the female population over 5 years old experienced higher rates of incidence during that same time period.
• The Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) is an institution that tracks data around chronic conditions in Mexico while providing public benefits.
• In a study of 192 people with diabetes (PWDs) over age 18, over 80 percent of participants had an A1C of over 7%, with a mean A1c of 9.2%.

Argentina

• Approximately 2 million people are living with diabetes in Argentina.
• The rate of incidence of type 1 among children ages 0-14 is around 7 per 100,000, ranking Argentina 53rd among countries according to rates of incidence.
• According to the WHO, basic technologies like blood and oral glucose tests, A1c measurements and urine tests are not generally available in the public health sector.
• However, PWDs receive free insulin, some oral drugs and some test strips through public health insurance.
• According to T1International, Glucagon kits cost approximately $57 USD on average for 2016 survey respondents.
• Argentina does not yet have a national registry for type 1 diabetes.

India

• Over 100,000 children in India are living with type 1.
• India is listed among the top 10 countries for number of people under 20 years old with type 1 diabetes, according to the IDF.
• According to 2016 data collected by T1International, a vial of Novolog has an out-of-pocket cost of $22 USD on average for survey respondents.
• It also revealed that the average diabetes cost share is nearly 80 percent of the monthly income for someone with type 1 among respondents.
• Average costs for glucagon kits were over $100 USD for survey respondents with type 1 diabetes paying out of pocket.
• Along with 10 other countries, India comprises the WHO’s South-East Asia region, which has a prevalence of type 1 diabetes of 1,11,500 in children.

China

• Nearly 50,000 children and adolescents under age 20 are living with type 1 diabetes in China, placing it among the top 10 countries according to the eighth edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas.
• Dr. Weng Jianping led a study that found that China is among the countries with the lowest rates of incidence of type 1 diabetes in children and adults.
• Over 60 percent of new diagnoses over a three-year period were among people 20 years old or older.
• Dr. Weng’s study concluded that populations in Northern China experience a higher rate of incidence of type 1 diabetes than regions in the south.
• The same study also found that in 2015, China had the largest estimated number of new annual cases of type 1 diabetes in children of any country in the Western Pacific, at a rate of over 4,000 out of 10,000.
• China does not yet have a national registry for type 1 diabetes.

Saudi Arabia

• Approximately 35,000 children in Saudi Arabia live with type 1 diabetes.
• Saudi Arabia is listed as the country with the third-highest rate of incidence of type 1 diabetes among children ages 0-14.
• Saudi Arabia had the highest rate of children affected with type 1 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), equivalent to a quarter of the total number of children with diabetes in the region, as noted in an article in the 2018 International Journal of Pediatrics.
• The article cited a study that found more than 90 percent of the children and adolescents living with diabetes in Saudi Arabia do not know they have diabetes.
• Another study found that more than one-fourth of the female population with type 1 experiences a lower quality of life and irregular periods.

Spain

• Over 10% of Spain’s adult population of over 34 million have diabetes, according to the IDF.
• People with type 1 make up 0.2-0.3 percent of those with diabetes in Spain.
• The rate of incidence of type 1 ranges from 9.5-16 per 100,000 children ages 0-14.
• The rate of incidence increases among the male population older than 15 years old.
• Nationwide, the rate of incidence of type 1 is between 11 and 12 per 100,000.
• Spain’s National Health System covers all diabetes-related expenses, offering universal health coverage to over 47 million people.

Netherlands

• The rate of incidence of type 1 among children ages 0-14 is approximately 20 per 100,000.
• Between 1978 and 2011, the rate of incidence in children doubled.
• About 750,000 people live with diabetes, equivalent to about 5 percent of the Dutch population.
• About 20 percent of those have type 1, which is about 150,000 people.
• Type 1 diagnoses are predicted to rise by 2.5 percent by 2020.
• In the Netherlands, children with type 1 are at higher risk of developing thyroid disease—24 times more so than those without diabetes.

France

• Over 7 percent of France’s adult population of 45 million have diabetes.
• In 2013, France was listed as #21 among countries according to rate of incidence of type 1 diabetes among children 0-14 years old, with a rate of 12.2 out of 100,000.
• The rate of incidence of type 1 diabetes increased to about 18 per 100,000 people as of 2015.
• The highest rates of incidence occurred in the regions of Corsica (21.7 per 100,000 people), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (21.1 per 100,000) and Hauts-de-France (19.7 per 100,000).
• France does not yet have a national registry for type 1 diabetes.

Germany

• Germany is ranked 12th in the world when it comes to rates of incidence of type 1 diabetes, with a rate of 18 per 100,000 among children ages 0-14.
• Over 25,000 adolescents and children under age 20 have type 1 diabetes, placing Germany among the top 10 countries for that population in the 8th edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas.
• The total prevalence of diabetes for the German population in 2010 was nearly 10 percent. Type 1 made up 0.3 percent.
• Prevalence of type 1 diabetes was higher among adult men than among women in 2010: 0.38 percent compared to .28 percent.
• Data from T1International’s 2016 access and supply survey noted that for respondents with type 1, an average of 0.3 percent of their monthly income was allocated to diabetes cost share.
• Between 1999 and 2014, a larger increase in rate of incidence of type 1 diabetes was found among children 10–14 years old than for other age groups.

Italy

• About 300,000 people live with type 1 in Italy, which has a population of 60 million.
• That’s less than 10 percent of people living with diabetes.
• Italy’s rate of incidence of type 1 diabetes in children is 12 out of 100,000.
• The Italian island of Sardinia is an anomaly to the rest of the country: the second-highest rate of incidence of type 1 diabetes in the world is found there.
• Sardinia’s rate of incidence of type 1 diabetes in children is 45 out of 100,000.
• The average out-of-pocket cost of insulin in Italy is $0 USD, according to respondents to T1International’s 2016 survey.

WRITTEN BY BT1 Editorial Team, POSTED 09/10/18, UPDATED 04/18/23

This piece was authored collaboratively by the Beyond Type 1 Editorial Team.