Pakistan Has The World’s Highest Prevalence Of Diabetes (Not USA?)

2023 05 28 11 30 30

I found this fascinating. This is from Visual Capitalist and ZeroHedge: 

Some takeaways: 

  • Type 2 Diabetes is caused by a mix of lifestyle factors (including obesity, physical inactivity, poor diet, and smoking) and genetics.
  • Pakistan is #1 in the world. The USA is #59
  • Since obesity has so much to do with Type 2 diabetes, you can generally tell from the map which countries are eating well. 
  • However, malnutrition can also be a cause (which makes Pakistan #1). 

Despite advancements in healthcare lengthening life expectancy across the world, there are still many diseases that are hard to beat. One of these growing and costly diseases is diabetes, but each country is being hit differently.

As Visual Capitalist’s Freny Fernandes details below, one of the leading causes of death and disability globally, over half a billion people are living with diabetes today. The World Bank’s IDF Diabetes Atlas reveals that diabetes was responsible for 6.7 million deaths in 2021 alone.

In this graphic, Alberto Rojo Moro uses this World Bank Atlas to map diabetes rates by country, highlighting the countries with the highest rates of the disease.

…

Diabetes Rates by Country

With close to 33 million (31%) of its adult population suffering from diabetes, Pakistan was the country with the highest prevalence of diabetes.

Rank Country % of Diabetic Population Aged 20-79
1 🇵🇰 Pakistan 30.8
2 🇵🇫 French Polynesia 25.2
3 🇰🇼 Kuwait 24.9
4 🇳🇷 Nauru 23.4
5 🇳🇨 New Caledonia 23.4
6 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands 23.0
7 🇲🇺 Mauritius 22.6
8 🇰🇮 Kiribati 22.1
9 🇪🇬 Egypt 20.9
10 🇦🇸 American Samoa 20.3
11 🇹🇻 Tuvalu 20.3
12 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands 19.8
13 🇶🇦 Qatar 19.5
14 🇬🇺 Guam 19.1
15 🇲🇾 Malaysia 19.0
16 🇸🇩 Sudan 18.9
17 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 18.7
18 🇫🇯 Fiji 17.7
19 🇵🇼 Palau 17.0
20 🇲🇽 Mexico 16.9
21 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea 16.7
22 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates 16.4
23 🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis 16.1
24 🇫🇲 Micronesia 15.6
25 🇻🇺 Vanuatu 15.6
26 🇯🇴 Jordan 15.4
27 🇹🇴 Tonga 15.0
28 🇸🇾 Syria 14.9
29 🇧🇿 Belize 14.5
30 🇹🇷 Turkey 14.5
31 🇧🇩 Bangladesh 14.2
32 🇧🇧 Barbados 14.0
33 🇴🇲 Oman 13.8
34 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico 13.3
35 🇬🇹 Guatemala 13.1
36 🇧🇲 Bermuda 13.0
37 🇰🇾 Cayman Islands 13.0
38 🇸🇷 Suriname 12.7
39 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago 12.7
40 🇬🇩 Grenada 12.6
41 🇻🇮 United States Virgin Islands 12.4
42 🇹🇿 Tanzania 12.3
43 🇿🇲 Zambia 11.9
44 🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda 11.7
45 🇰🇲 Comoros 11.7
46 🇨🇼 Curacao 11.7
47 🇩🇲 Dominica 11.7
48 🇬🇾 Guyana 11.7
49 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia 11.7
50 🇸🇬 Singapore 11.6
51 🇧🇭 Bahrain 11.3
52 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 11.3
53 🇧🇳 Brunei 11.1
54 🇯🇲 Jamaica 11.1
55 🇦🇫 Afghanistan 10.9
56 🇨🇱 Chile 10.8
57 🇿🇦 South Africa 10.8
58 🇮🇶 Iraq 10.7
59 🇺🇸 United States 10.7
60 🇨🇳 China 10.6
61 🇮🇩 Indonesia 10.6
62 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic 10.5
63 🇧🇹 Bhutan 10.4
64 🇪🇸 Spain 10.3
65 🇦🇱 Albania 10.2
66 🇦🇩 Andorra 9.7
67 🇹🇭 Thailand 9.7
68 🇹🇳 Tunisia 9.6
69 🇻🇪 Venezuela 9.6
70 🇳🇮 Nicaragua 9.3
71 🇲🇻 Maldives 9.2
72 🇵🇸 Palestine 9.2
73 🇼🇸 Samoa 9.2
74 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.1
75 🇮🇷 Iran 9.1
76 🇲🇪 Montenegro 9.1
77 🇲🇦 Morocco 9.1
78 🇵🇹 Portugal 9.1
79 🇷🇸 Serbia 9.1
80 🇺🇾 Uruguay 9.0
81 🇭🇹 Haiti 8.9
82 🇧🇸 Bahamas 8.8
83 🇧🇷 Brazil 8.8
84 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 8.8
85 🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands 8.7
86 🇱🇾 Libya 8.7
87 🇳🇵 Nepal 8.7
88 🇨🇾 Cyprus 8.6
89 🇰🇵 North Korea 8.6
90 🇹🇱 Timor 8.6
91 🇮🇱 Israel 8.5
92 🇸🇨 Seychelles 8.5
93 🇨🇴 Colombia 8.3
94 🇵🇦 Panama 8.2
95 🇱🇧 Lebanon 8.0
96 🇲🇹 Malta 8.0
97 🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 8.0
98 🇭🇰 Hong Kong 7.8
99 🇲🇴 Macao 7.8
100 🇨🇦 Canada 7.7
101 🇨🇺 Cuba 7.6
102 🇵🇾 Paraguay 7.5
103 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 7.4
104 🇩🇯 Djibouti 7.4
105 🇸🇲 San Marino 7.4
106 🇰🇭 Cambodia 7.3
107 🇲🇼 Malawi 7.3
108 🇩🇿 Algeria 7.1
109 🇨🇿 Czechia 7.1
110 🇲🇲 Myanmar 7.1
111 🇵🇭 Philippines 7.1
112 🇭🇺 Hungary 7.0
113 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan 7.0
114 🇩🇪 Germany 6.9
115 🇲🇳 Mongolia 6.9
116 🇵🇱 Poland 6.8
117 🇰🇷 South Korea 6.8
118 🇳🇦 Namibia 6.7
119 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan 6.7
120 🇯🇵 Japan 6.6
121 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan 6.6
122 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan 6.6
123 🇹🇯 Tajikistan 6.6
124 🇧🇮 Burundi 6.5
125 🇪🇷 Eritrea 6.5
126 🇪🇪 Estonia 6.5
127 🇷🇴 Romania 6.5
128 🇷🇼 Rwanda 6.5
129 🇸🇴 Somalia 6.5
130 🇸🇸 South Sudan 6.5
131 🇦🇺 Australia 6.4
132 🇬🇷 Greece 6.4
133 🇮🇹 Italy 6.4
134 🇸🇻 El Salvador 6.3
135 🇮🇲 Isle of Man 6.3
136 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 6.3
137 🇱🇦 Laos 6.2
138 🇲🇨 Monaco 6.2
139 🇳🇿 New Zealand 6.2
140 🇫🇮 Finland 6.1
141 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 6.1
142 🇲🇰 North Macedonia 6.1
143 🇻🇳 Vietnam 6.1
144 🇱🇻 Latvia 5.9
145 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 5.9
146 🇨🇫 Central African Republic 5.8
147 🇹🇩 Chad 5.8
148 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of Congo 5.8
149 🇱🇹 Lithuania 5.8
150 🇸🇰 Slovakia 5.8
151 🇬🇪 Georgia 5.7
152 🇦🇲 Armenia 5.6
153 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan 5.6
154 🇧🇾 Belarus 5.6
155 🇲🇩 Moldova 5.6
156 🇷🇺 Russia 5.6
157 🇺🇦 Ukraine 5.6
158 🇧🇴 Bolivia 5.5
159 🇨🇲 Cameroon 5.5
160 🇨🇬 Congo 5.5
161 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea 5.5
162 🇬🇦 Gabon 5.5
163 🇮🇸 Iceland 5.5
164 🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe 5.5
165 🇦🇷 Argentina 5.4
166 🇾🇪 Yemen 5.4
167 🇩🇰 Denmark 5.3
168 🇫🇷 France 5.3
169 🇧🇼 Botswana 5.3
170 🇳🇪 Niger 5.2
171 🇭🇳 Honduras 5.1
172 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 5.0
173 🇸🇪 Sweden 5.0
174 🇭🇷 Croatia 4.8
175 🇵🇪 Peru 4.8
176 🇦🇴 Angola 4.6
177 🇦🇹 Austria 4.6
178 🇸🇿 Eswatini 4.6
179 🇱🇸 Lesotho 4.6
180 🇲🇬 Madagascar 4.6
181 🇨🇭 Switzerland 4.6
182 🇺🇬 Uganda 4.6
183 🇳🇱 Netherlands 4.5
184 🇪🇨 Ecuador 4.4
185 🇦🇼 Aruba 4.3
186 🇰🇪 Kenya 4.0
187 🇫🇴 Faroe Islands 3.8
188 🇧🇪 Belgium 3.6
189 🇳🇬 Nigeria 3.6
190 🇳🇴 Norway 3.6
191 🇬🇱 Greenland 3.3
192 🇲🇿 Mozambique 3.3
193 🇸🇳 Senegal 3.1
194 🇮🇪 Ireland 3.0
195 🇬🇭 Ghana 2.6
196 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 2.1
197 🇨🇻 Cape Verde 2.1
198 🇨🇮 Cote d’Ivoire 2.1
199 🇬🇳 Guinea 2.1
200 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau 2.1
201 🇱🇷 Liberia 2.1
202 🇲🇱 Mali 2.1
203 🇲🇷 Mauritania 2.1
204 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone 2.1
205 🇹🇬 Togo 2.1
206 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe 2.1
207 🇬🇲 Gambia 1.9
208 🇧🇯 Benin 1.1

The situation in Pakistan is currently not expected to improve in the near future. By 2045, the country is estimated to have 62 million people suffering from diabetes due to numerous reasons including malnutrition.

This chronic disease has also reached alarming levels in many Oceanic island countries and territories, including French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and American Samoa. Each has a diabetic prevalence above 20%, with reasons ranging from malnutrition to obesity.

Meanwhile, African nations like Benin and The Gambia recorded the lowest prevalence of diabetes in the world. In 2021, African countries had a combined total of 23.6 million adults with diabetes, less than 2% of the continent’s population. However, this number is predicted to double to 55 million by 2045.