India was home to the world’s second largest population of adults living with diabetes in 2024, with an estimated 90 million people affected, according to a study published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.
China topped the list with 148 million cases, followed by the United States with 39 million.
The study, conducted by researchers from institutions including the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in Belgium, the India Diabetes Research Foundation and Dr A Ramachandran’s Diabetes Hospital in Chennai, found that countries with large populations such as China, India, the US and Pakistan account for a significant share of the global diabetes burden.
The researchers projected that Pakistan could overtake the US in total cases by 2050.
The findings are based on the eleventh edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas, which provides national, regional and global estimates for diabetes prevalence in 2024, along with projections up to 2050.
Estimates were generated for 215 countries and territories after analysing data from 246 studies conducted between 2005 and 2024.
Globally, more than 11 per cent of adults aged 20 to 79, or about 589 million people, were living with diabetes in 2024.
This figure is projected to rise sharply to nearly 13 per cent, or 853 million adults, by 2050.
The authors noted that one in nine adults worldwide was affected by diabetes in 2024, and warned that the number could approach 900 million within the next 25 years if current trends continue.
More than four-fifths of people with diabetes, or about 80.6 per cent, were estimated to be living in low- and middle-income countries in 2024.
These countries are also expected to account for over 95 per cent of the global increase in diabetes cases by 2050, driven largely by population growth, ageing and rapid urbanisation.
The study found that diabetes prevalence peaked at nearly 25 per cent among adults aged 75 to 79, and was higher among men than women, and in urban areas compared to rural regions.
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Middle-income countries recorded the highest prevalence at 11.46 per cent of adults, followed by high-income countries at 10.21 per cent and low-income countries at 7.47 per cent.
The researchers stressed the need for stronger global efforts to curb the growing diabetes epidemic, noting that it has continued largely unchecked since the turn of the millennium.
They called for improved monitoring and greater support for data collection, particularly in resource-poor settings, alongside prevention and management strategies tailored to different countries and population groups.
