China is the country with the highest number of diabetics worldwide, with around 141 million people suffering from the disease. By the year 2045, it is predicted that China will have around 174 million people with diabetes.

Death from diabetes

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, accounting for 1.5 million deaths in 2019. Diabetes at least doubles one’s chance of dying prematurely and many places in the world lack appropriate treatment options. The highest number of deaths from diabetes comes from the Western Pacific, where over 717,000 people died from the disease in 2021.

Obesity

One of the biggest risk factors for developing diabetes is being overweight or obese. Rates of obesity have increased in recent years in many countries around the world. In the United States, for example, it is estimated that around 32 percent of the adult population was obese in 2018, compared to 19 percent of the population in 1997.

In 2021, French Polynesia had the highest prevalence of diabetes worldwide, with around 27 percent of the population suffering from the disease. Diabetes mellitus, or simply, diabetes, refers to a group of metabolic disorders that cause high blood sugar levels. Diabetes can be prevented and treated though exercise, maintaining normal body weight, and healthy eating, but is usually managed with insulin injections.

Costs

As of 2021, there were almost 540 million people worldwide who had diabetes. With such a huge number of people suffering from this disease it is no surprise that spending on diabetes can be very high. It is estimated that the United States alone spent around 380 billion U.S. dollars on diabetes health expenditure in 2021. The countries with the highest spending per patient with diabetes include the United States, Switzerland, and Norway.

Death

Diabetes is among the leading ten causes of death worldwide, accounting for around 1.5 million deaths in 2019. Complications resulting from diabetes include chronic kidney disease, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. Risk of early death is at least doubled among those with diabetes. The Western Pacific reports the highest number of deaths from diabetes followed by the Middle East and North Africa.

In 2021, almost 12 thousand U.S. dollars were spent per diabetic patient in the United States, making it the country with the highest average cost per person. Switzerland and Norway stood in second and third place, respectively, each spending over nine thousand U.S. dollars per patient.

Lowest spending countries

When viewing diabetes-related costs worldwide, it becomes apparent that there are significant disparities between countries. The ten countries with the lowest average annual diabetes-related health expenditures per person were all African and Asian countries. The Democratic Republic of the Congo stood at the top of the list in 2021, with an average spending of about 156 U.S. dollars per person. Other countries on this list included Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, and the Soloman Islands.

Anti-diabetic revenue

Revenue generated by anti-diabetic products has increased as the number of diabetcis worldwide has risen. The largest pharmaceutical company, in terms of global anti-diabetic revenue, was Novo Nordisk in 2017. The company earned roughly 13.7 million U.S. dollars that year and is projected to generate about 21 million U.S. dollars in 2024.

In 2021, almost 17 percent of adults between the ages of 20 and 79 had diabetes in Mexico. Other selected countries with a high prevalence of diabetes that year included Turkey, Spain, and the United States. Diabetes is a metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar levels.

Diabetes worldwide

In 2021, an estimated 10.5 percent of the global adult population had diabetes. In concrete numbers, there were about 537 million diabetic adults (20-79 years) worldwide in 2021, and this total is predicted to grow to approximately 783 million by the year 2045.

Spending per patient

The country that spent the most on patients with diabetes in 2021 was the United States. At this time, providing for a diabetic patient here cost an average of almost 12 thousand U.S. dollars. Switzerland stood in second place, spending about 10,500 U.S. dollars per patient. In the same year, the ten countries by lowest average spending per person with diabetes were all African and Asian countries. The Democratic Republic of Congo had the lowest annual diabetes-related health expenditures per person, with about 156 U.S. dollars.

In 2021, the Democratic Republic of Congo was the country with the lowest spending per patient with diabetes in the world, with average annual expenditures amounting to some 156 U.S. dollars that year. Other countries with low diabetes spending per diabetic person included Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, and the Soloman Islands.

Worldwide cost of diabetes

The cost of diabetes was by far the highest in North America and the Caribbean in 2021: the average cost per diabetic patient was approximately 8,650 U.S. dollars for that region. With around half that, Europe had the second-highest diabetes costs with roughly 4,320 U.S. dollars.

Diabetes in 2045

In 2021, it was estimated that around 537 million people worldwide had diabetes. By 2045, this number is forecast to reach 783 million. For adults aged 20 to 64, the number of diabetic people is expected to increase by roughly 25 percent between 2017 and 2045. For the older generation (65- to 79-year-olds), the number of diabetics will more than double in that time.

In 2021, close to 31 percent of the population in Pakistan had diabetes. In comparison, Vietnam had the lowest prevalence of diabetic people across the Asia-Pacific region that year, approximately six percent.

Spain had the highest prevalence of diabetes in Europe among their adult population with 14.8 percent living with diabetes, as of 2021, Portugal followed with the second highest share at 13 percent. Conversely, Ireland was the country with the lowest prevalence of diabetes in Europe at four percent.

Diabetes-related deaths

The highest number of diabetes-related deaths in Europe, at almost 173 thousand, was recorded Italy in 2021. Germany and UK followed, with roughly 151.5 and 140.8 thousand deaths, respectively.

Diabetes risk factors in Europe

One of the major contributing factors to type 2 diabetes is being overweight or obese. As of 2020, Greece had the highest share of overweight population across Europe, with 40.8 percent. The lack of sports and exercise is also another risk factor. As of 2022 Portugal was the European country with the highest share of people never exercising or engaging in sports, with 73 percent.

This statistic shows the top 10 countries based on number of new cases of type 1 diabetes per 100,000 children aged 0 to 14 years, in 2021. Finland had the highest rate with 52.2 new cases per 100,000 children per year.

This statistic shows the top 10 countries for number of children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 years with type 1 diabetes in 2021. In that year, the India topped the list with around the 229,400 children and adolescents, followed by the U.S. with 157,900.

Throughout history, the human race has often faced pandemics with substantial numbers of fatalities. As the COVID-19 pandemic has now affected the whole planet, even countries with moderate to strong healthcare support and expenditure have struggled to contain disease transmission and casualties. Countries affected by COVID-19 have different demographics, socioeconomic, and lifestyle health indicators. In this context, it is important to find out to what extent these parametric variations are modulating disease outcomes. To answer this, this study selected demographic, socioeconomic, and health indicators e.g., population density, percentage of the urban population, median age, health expenditure per capita, obesity, diabetes prevalence, alcohol intake, tobacco use, case fatality of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as independent variables. Countries were grouped according to these variables and influence on dependent variables e.g., COVID-19 positive tests, case fatality, and case recovery rates were statistically analyzed. The results suggested that countries with variable median age had a significantly different outcome on positive test rate (P < 0.01). Both the median age (P = 0.0397) and health expenditure per capita (P = 0.0041) showed a positive relation with case recovery. An increasing number of tests per 100 K of the population showed a positive and negative relationship with the number of positives per 100 K population (P = 0.0001) and the percentage of positive tests (P < 0.0001), respectively. Alcohol intake per capita in liter (P = 0.0046), diabetes prevalence (P = 0.0389), and NCDs mortalities (P = 0.0477) also showed a statistical relation to the case fatality rate. Further analysis revealed that countries with high healthcare expenditure along with high median age and increased urban population showed more case fatality but also had a better recovery rate. Investment in the health sector alone is insufficient in controlling the severity of the pandemic. Intelligent and sustainable healthcare both in urban and rural settings and healthy lifestyle acquired immunity may reduce disease transmission and comorbidity induced fatalities, respectively.

The average cost per diabetic patient was approximately 8,650 U.S. dollars in North America and the Caribbean in 2021. This amount was far greater than for any other region. Within this region specifically, average diabetes-related health expenditure was by far the highest in the United States.

Highest spending per patient

In 2021, the average yearly cost per person with diabetes was the highest in the United States, where costs ran close to 12 thousand U.S. dollars per patient. Switzerland stood in second place that year with approximately 10,545 U.S. dollars per person per year. Sweden and Ireland were also among the ten highest spending countries.

Diabetes mellitus worldwide

In 2021, the country with the highest number of diabetic people in the world was China, which had a diabetic population of almost 141 million. India had the second-highest number of diabetics that year with 74 million people. These are, however, the world’s most populous countries. When comparing the number of diabetic people within a country to the rest of the country’s population, the results are quite different. In 2021, close to a third of the people living in French Polynesia had the condition, making it the country with the highest prevalence of diabetes in the world.

Goal 3Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all agesTarget 3.1: By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live birthsIndicator 3.1.1: Maternal mortality ratioSH_STA_MORT: Maternal mortality ratioIndicator 3.1.2: Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnelSH_STA_BRTC: Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel (%)Target 3.2: By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live birthsIndicator 3.2.1: Under-5 mortality rateSH_DYN_IMRTN: Infant deaths (number)SH_DYN_MORT: Under-five mortality rate, by sex (deaths per 1,000 live births)SH_DYN_IMRT: Infant mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births)SH_DYN_MORTN: Under-five deaths (number)Indicator 3.2.2: Neonatal mortality rateSH_DYN_NMRTN: Neonatal deaths (number)SH_DYN_NMRT: Neonatal mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births)Target 3.3: By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseasesIndicator 3.3.1: Number of new HIV infections per 1,000 uninfected population, by sex, age and key populationsSH_HIV_INCD: Number of new HIV infections per 1,000 uninfected population, by sex and age (per 1,000 uninfected population)Indicator 3.3.2: Tuberculosis incidence per 100,000 populationSH_TBS_INCD: Tuberculosis incidence (per 100,000 population)Indicator 3.3.3: Malaria incidence per 1,000 populationSH_STA_MALR: Malaria incidence per 1,000 population at risk (per 1,000 population)Indicator 3.3.4: Hepatitis B incidence per 100,000 populationSH_HAP_HBSAG: Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) (%)Indicator 3.3.5: Number of people requiring interventions against neglected tropical diseasesSH_TRP_INTVN: Number of people requiring interventions against neglected tropical diseases (number)Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-beingIndicator 3.4.1: Mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseaseSH_DTH_NCOM: Mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease (probability)SH_DTH_NCD: Number of deaths attributed to non-communicable diseases, by type of disease and sex (number)Indicator 3.4.2: Suicide mortality rateSH_STA_SCIDE: Suicide mortality rate, by sex (deaths per 100,000 population)SH_STA_SCIDEN: Number of deaths attributed to suicide, by sex (number)Target 3.5: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcoholIndicator 3.5.1: Coverage of treatment interventions (pharmacological, psychosocial and rehabilitation and aftercare services) for substance use disordersSH_SUD_ALCOL: Alcohol use disorders, 12-month prevalence (%)SH_SUD_TREAT: Coverage of treatment interventions (pharmacological, psychosocial and rehabilitation and aftercare services) for substance use disorders (%)Indicator 3.5.2: Alcohol per capita consumption (aged 15 years and older) within a calendar year in litres of pure alcoholSH_ALC_CONSPT: Alcohol consumption per capita (aged 15 years and older) within a calendar year (litres of pure alcohol)Target 3.6: By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidentsIndicator 3.6.1: Death rate due to road traffic injuriesSH_STA_TRAF: Death rate due to road traffic injuries, by sex (per 100,000 population)Target 3.7: By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmesIndicator 3.7.1: Proportion of women of reproductive age (aged 15–49 years) who have their need for family planning satisfied with modern methodsSH_FPL_MTMM: Proportion of women of reproductive age (aged 15-49 years) who have their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods (% of women aged 15-49 years)Indicator 3.7.2: Adolescent birth rate (aged 10–14 years; aged 15–19 years) per 1,000 women in that age groupSP_DYN_ADKL: Adolescent birth rate (per 1,000 women aged 15-19 years)Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for allIndicator 3.8.1: Coverage of essential health servicesSH_ACS_UNHC: Universal health coverage (UHC) service coverage indexIndicator 3.8.2: Proportion of population with large household expenditures on health as a share of total household expenditure or incomeSH_XPD_EARN25: Proportion of population with large household expenditures on health (greater than 25%) as a share of total household expenditure or income (%)SH_XPD_EARN10: Proportion of population with large household expenditures on health (greater than 10%) as a share of total household expenditure or income (%)Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contaminationIndicator 3.9.1: Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollutionSH_HAP_ASMORT: Age-standardized mortality rate attributed to household air pollution (deaths per 100,000 population)SH_STA_AIRP: Crude death rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution (deaths per 100,000 population)SH_STA_ASAIRP: Age-standardized mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution (deaths per 100,000 population)SH_AAP_MORT: Crude death rate attributed to ambient air pollution (deaths per 100,000 population)SH_AAP_ASMORT: Age-standardized mortality rate attributed to ambient air pollution (deaths per 100,000 population)SH_HAP_MORT: Crude death rate attributed to household air pollution (deaths per 100,000 population)Indicator 3.9.2: Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene (exposure to unsafe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All (WASH) services)SH_STA_WASH: Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene (deaths per 100,000 population)Indicator 3.9.3: Mortality rate attributed to unintentional poisoningSH_STA_POISN: Mortality rate attributed to unintentional poisonings, by sex (deaths per 100,000 population)Target 3.a: Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriateIndicator 3.a.1: Age-standardized prevalence of current tobacco use among persons aged 15 years and olderSH_PRV_SMOK: Age-standardized prevalence of current tobacco use among persons aged 15 years and older, by sex (%)Target 3.b: Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for allIndicator 3.b.1: Proportion of the target population covered by all vaccines included in their national programmeSH_ACS_DTP3: Proportion of the target population with access to 3 doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) (%)SH_ACS_MCV2: Proportion of the target population with access to measles-containing-vaccine second-dose (MCV2) (%)SH_ACS_PCV3: Proportion of the target population with access to pneumococcal conjugate 3rd dose (PCV3) (%)SH_ACS_HPV: Proportion of the target population with access to affordable medicines and vaccines on a sustainable basis, human papillomavirus (HPV) (%)Indicator 3.b.2: Total net official development assistance to medical research and basic health sectorsDC_TOF_HLTHNT: Total official development assistance to medical research and basic heath sectors, net disbursement, by recipient countries (millions of constant 2018 United States dollars)DC_TOF_HLTHL: Total official development assistance to medical research and basic heath sectors, gross disbursement, by recipient countries (millions of constant 2018 United States dollars)Indicator 3.b.3: Proportion of health facilities that have a core set of relevant essential medicines available and affordable on a sustainable basisSH_HLF_EMED: Proportion of health facilities that have a core set of relevant essential medicines available and affordable on a sustainable basis (%)Target 3.c: Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing StatesIndicator 3.c.1: Health worker density and distributionSH_MED_DEN: Health worker density, by type of occupation (per 10,000 population)SH_MED_HWRKDIS: Health worker distribution, by sex and type of occupation (%)Target 3.d: Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risksIndicator 3.d.1: International Health Regulations (IHR) capacity and health emergency preparednessSH_IHR_CAPS: International Health Regulations (IHR) capacity, by type of IHR capacity (%)Indicator 3.d.2: Percentage of bloodstream infections due to selected antimicrobial-resistant organismsiSH_BLD_MRSA: Percentage of bloodstream infection due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among patients seeking care and whose

Objectives: To explore whether the rule of law is a foundational determinant of health that underlies other socioeconomic, political and cultural factors that have been associated with health outcomes. Setting: Global project. Participants: Data set of 96 countries, comprising 91% of the global population. Primary and secondary outcome measures: The following health indicators, infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, life expectancy, and cardiovascular disease and diabetes mortality rate, were included to explore their association with the rule of law. We used a novel Rule of Law Index, gathered from survey sources, in a cross-sectional and ecological design. The Index is based on eight subindices: (1) Constraints on Government Powers; (2) Absence of Corruption; (3) Order and Security; (4) Fundamental Rights; (5) Open Government; (6) Regulatory Enforcement, (7) Civil Justice; and (8) Criminal Justice. Results: The rule of law showed an independent association with infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, life expectancy, and cardiovascular disease and diabetes mortality rate, after adjusting for the countries’ level of per capita income, their expenditures in health, their level of political and civil freedom, their Gini measure of inequality and women's status (p<0.05). Rule of law remained significant in all the multivariate models, and the following adjustment for potential confounders remained robust for at least one or more of the health outcomes across all eight subindices of the rule of law. Findings show that the higher the country's level of adherence to the rule of law, the better the health of the population. Conclusions: It is necessary to start considering the country's adherence to the rule of law as a foundational determinant of health. Health advocates should consider the improvement of rule of law as a tool to improve population health. Conversely, lack of progress in rule of law may constitute a structural barrier to health improvement.

In 2021, the cost per person with diabetes in the United Arab Emirates was 2100 U.S. dollars, the highest in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Amongst Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Oman had the lowest cost per patient with diabetes at 845 U.S. dollars.

In 2021, health care spending per person with diabetes in Mexico amounted to around 1,412 U.S. dollars. This figure is forecast to increase to nearly 1,805 U.S. dollars per patient by 2045. The number of adult population with diabetes in the country in 2020 added up to 12.81 million people, one of the highest among selected Latin American countries.

In 2021, Switzerland had the highest health expenditure per person with diabetes in Europe, with it costing over 12.8 thousand U.S. dollars for every person living with diabetes in the country. Whereas, in Romania it costs 930 U.S. dollars on per person with diabetes. This statistic displays the health expenditure per person with diabetes in Europe in 2021, by country.

In 2021, health care spending per person with diabetes in Brazil amounted to around 2,728 U.S. dollars. This figure is forecast to increase to approximately 3,269 U.S. dollars per patient by 2045. The number of adult population with diabetes in the country in 2020 added up to 16.78 million people, the highest among selected Latin American countries by that time.

In 2021, health care spending per person with diabetes in Colombia amounted to around 1,773 U.S. dollars. This figure is forecast to increase to 2,141.4 U.S. dollars per patient by 2045. The number of adult population with diabetes in the country in 2020 added up to 2.84 million people, one of the highest among selected Latin American countries.

The top pharmaceutical companies based on global anti-diabetic revenue include big-name pharmaceutical leaders such as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. As of 2017, Novo Nordisk was the top global anti-diabetic revenue generator with over 13.7 billion U.S. dollars in revenue for that year. Novo Nordisk is projected to continue being the top anti-diabetic pharmaceutical company by 2024. They are projected to make about 21 billion U.S. dollars in anti-diabetic pharmaceuticals revenue in the year 2024.

Diabetes treatments and prevalence

Diabetes is a chronic illness caused by the pancreas not producing enough insulin or the body not effectively using insulin. The global prevalence of diabetes in 2017 was about 8.8 percent and that is expected to increase significantly by 2045. Though not all countries are affected equally. Many Pacific Island nations have a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes than the rest of the world. Likewise, not all countries have the same standards of care or costs for care. Norway, Switzerland and the U.S. have the some of the highest costs per person with diabetes as of 2017.

Top diabetes pharmaceuticals

There are many types of treatments for diabetes. As of 2017, Novo Nordisk’s NovoRapid insulin held the highest share among all anti-diabetic products on the market. NovoRapid is primarily used in the treatment of type I diabetes. Other types of insulin are also among the top anti-diabetic products. When based on revenue generated, the top anti-diabetic products included Eli Lilly’s Trulicity and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance, medications used primarily in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Between 2019 and 2022, diabetic patients in Ghana aged 30-39 years spent the most on care compared to people of other ages. Moreover, the diabetes care expenditure for patients 17 years and younger reached 278 million Ghanaian cedis, around 27 million U.S. dollars. Overall, in 2022, the average per capita expenditure on diabetes care in the country amounted to 53.5 Ghanaian cedis, some 5.3 U.S. dollars.