Diabetes Global Challenge

Diabetes
Global Challenge
Ecosystem

Explore the global diabetes landscape through population data, diagnostic evidence, patient pathways and treatment coverage. Connect research, clinical expertise and innovation to support better understanding and care.

An adult checking a continuous glucose sensor on her upper arm
Diabetes research and careA global perspective.
A focus on people.
Explore the patient journey ↗Conceptual editorial image
589million

adults aged 20–79 living with diabetes

IDF estimate · 2024 ↗
Population evidence → diagnosis → care → access

Research database coverage · supplied October 2026 snapshot · trial records include different study types and statuses

Understanding diabetes

Different types.
Different care needs.

Understanding the different forms of diabetes is essential for interpreting research, identifying care needs and developing appropriate prevention and management strategies.

Hands discussing a capped insulin pen in an everyday care setting
Insulin production

Type 1 diabetes

An autoimmune condition in which the body stops producing insulin. It can develop at any age and requires insulin treatment.

Two adults walking together outdoors
Insulin action

Type 2 diabetes

The body does not use insulin effectively and may gradually produce too little. Prevention, earlier detection and continued care all matter.

Beyond type 1 & type 2

The wider picture

Gestational diabetes

Elevated blood glucose during pregnancy.

Intermediate glucose states

Impaired glucose tolerance and fasting glycaemia also matter in the wider landscape.

The interactive views focus on type 1, type 2 and combined diabetes evidence.

Read the WHO overview ↗

The global picture

Global diabetes incidence and prevalence

Explore incidence and prevalence, with reported and estimated layers kept distinct. Filter by diabetes type and year to see both the patterns and the gaps in the evidence.

Use the year slider and country tooltips. Estimated prevalence covers adults aged 20–79; reported incidence has more limited country coverage.Open full view ↗

The people behind the data

Diabetes patient profiles

Compare age and sex patterns in selected countries, then explore published complication profiles. The two panels describe different populations and sources.

Select a country and measure. Complication shares describe recorded complications, which can overlap; they are not the percentage of all patients.Open full view ↗

The diagnostic perspective

Diabetes diagnostics
and test accuracy

Explore published sensitivity, specificity and uncertainty across 11 test and risk-assessment methods. Compare the evidence behind a result, not just the headline percentage.

Hover over each method for its threshold, reference standard and study population. Estimates using different reference tests are not directly interchangeable.Open full view ↗

The patient journey

Diabetes patient journey

Follow the steps from onset and testing to treatment and control. Switch between type 1 and type 2 pathways and compare the available care-cascade evidence.

These are cross-sectional estimates, not the follow-up of one cohort. Populations, source years and control thresholds differ; details are shown on hover.Open full view ↗

The access question

Diabetes burden and
treatment coverage

Compare prevalence with the share of people with diabetes taking glucose-lowering medication. Explore where high burden meets lower coverage, and which populations sit behind each point.

The comparison combines IDF prevalence estimates for 2024 and NCD-RisC treatment estimates for 2022. Medication coverage is a proxy for access, not a direct measure of medicine supply.Open full view ↗

Inside the research database

The diabetes ecosystem, in context

Explore a research landscape spanning therapeutics, digital health, cell and gene therapies, glucose monitoring and insulin delivery.

9 company segments52 research and ecosystem hubs
Explore the interactive evidence ↗

Leading company segments

Database records
Therapeutics
61
Digital Health
24
Cell & Gene Therapy
22
Insulin Delivery
21

The five interactive visualisations cover selected population, diagnostic and care datasets. Their coverage differs from the wider database. Counts describe supplied research records, not the complete global market.

The research library

Diabetes research materials

Explore Diabetes and Metabolic Global Overview 2026 through the one-pager, teaser and full report.

Diabetes and Metabolic Global Overview — Teaser, Q3 2026

Teaser

An introduction to the landscape and research scope.

Read teaser
Diabetes and Metabolic Global Overview — Report / Deck, Q3 2026

Report / Deck

The full Diabetes and Metabolic Global Overview 2026.

Read report
Coming soon

Diabetes Global Challenge

Diabetes
Intelligence Platform

A planned environment for exploring diabetes evidence, diagnostics, patient pathways and access in one place.

  • Population evidence, with source and year context
  • Diagnostic performance and research methods
  • Type 1 and type 2 care pathways
  • Comparisons of burden and treatment coverage
Diabetes Intelligence
OverviewPopulationDiagnosticsCare
Region: GlobalType: AllEvidence overviewConcept preview
Companies183Research database
Trial Records733Research database
Investors50Research database
Clinics102Research database
Global prevalence landscape2024
Diabetes prevalence map from the supplied population dataset
LowerHigher
Adults aged 20–79 · IDF estimated prevalence
Burden & treatment coverage195 countries
Country comparison of diabetes prevalence and medication coverage
40 / 195high burden / lower coverage
Selected highest map estimatesPrevalence
Pakistan31.4%2024
Marshall Islands25.7%2024
Kuwait25.6%2024
Concept preview · supplied research datasets · source periods differ between views

Connect evidence with expertise

Join the Diabetes
Global Challenge Ecosystem

Connect with Global Health Challenges to explore research, analytical and partnership opportunities in diabetes.

Become a partner ↗
Sources, coverage and interpretation +

Global context

The 589 million estimate refers to adults aged 20–79 in 2024, including diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes. It is not the number of diagnosed cases alone.

IDF Diabetes Atlas, 11th edition ↗WHO: Diabetes questions and answers ↗

Interactive evidence

The five supplied datasets retain their source records, periods and methodological notes. The map includes 209 territories for prevalence but only 10 countries with reported incidence records. Different chart selections may use different populations and years.

These materials support research and exploration; they do not provide individual diagnosis or treatment advice.