Who dies of diabetes?
In the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, 2.2% of men and 2.2% of women eventually die of diabetes. It is the most likely cause of death in 2 of their 1,152 country, sex and age groups.
The risk by age
Chance of dying of diabetes within 10 years, and its share of all the risk at that age — the median of 36 countries. Your own country's numbers are one click away on its page.
| Age | men | women |
|---|---|---|
| 15–19 | <0.01% (0.54% of the risk) | <0.01% (0.61% of the risk) |
| 20–24 | <0.01% (0.78% of the risk) | <0.01% (0.76% of the risk) |
| 25–29 | <0.01% (0.97% of the risk) | <0.01% (0.88% of the risk) |
| 30–34 | 0.01% (1.1% of the risk) | <0.01% (0.90% of the risk) |
| 35–39 | 0.02% (1.5% of the risk) | <0.01% (1.1% of the risk) |
| 40–44 | 0.05% (1.6% of the risk) | 0.02% (1.2% of the risk) |
| 45–49 | 0.09% (2.0% of the risk) | 0.03% (1.4% of the risk) |
| 50–54 | 0.14% (2.0% of the risk) | 0.06% (1.7% of the risk) |
| 55–59 | 0.25% (2.2% of the risk) | 0.11% (1.9% of the risk) |
| 60–64 | 0.38% (2.3% of the risk) | 0.20% (2.1% of the risk) |
| 65–69 | 0.57% (2.4% of the risk) | 0.37% (2.2% of the risk) |
| 70–74 | 0.80% (2.5% of the risk) | 0.62% (2.4% of the risk) |
| 75–79 | 1.2% (2.4% of the risk) | 0.96% (2.5% of the risk) |
| 80–84 | 1.7% (2.3% of the risk) | 1.4% (2.3% of the risk) |
| 85–89 | 1.9% (2.1% of the risk) | 1.7% (2.0% of the risk) |
| 90–94 | 1.8% (1.8% of the risk) | 1.7% (1.8% of the risk) |
Where it's the most likely cause of death
Lifetime chance, men: highest and lowest countries
Lifetime chance, women: highest and lowest countries
What changes the odds
- People with obesity (a BMI of 30 or more): about 5.5 times as often as people of healthy weight.
- In large cohort studies, people who smoke died of it about 1.6 times as often as people who never smoked (Carter 2015).
Weight, exercise, alcohol and diet at age 55, from the published studies behind Odainn's personal numbers — methodology.
What you can do
- Have your blood sugar checked when it's due.
- Losing weight if you're overweight, moving more and cutting sugary drinks can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes — by more than half in trials.
- If you have diabetes, keeping blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol on target prevents complications.
Act fast: Constant thirst, peeing a lot, tiredness or losing weight without trying: see a doctor.
Sources: ADA Standards of Care in Diabetes — 2026; Diabetes Prevention Program (NEJM 2002); NHS: Type 2 diabetes. General guidance, not medical advice.
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Related: Kidney disease
Questions
- At what age is diabetes most likely to be the cause of death?
- For men, diabetes takes its largest share of deaths at 70–74: 2.5% of the risk of dying in the next 10 years, in the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age.
- Which country has the highest risk of dying of diabetes?
- Of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, Croatia has the highest lifetime chance of dying of diabetes for men (7.0%), and Slovakia the lowest (0.87%).
- What raises the risk of dying of diabetes?
- People with obesity (a BMI of 30 or more): about 5.5 times as often as people of healthy weight. In large cohort studies, people who smoke died of it about 1.6 times as often as people who never smoked (Carter 2015).
Computed by Odainn from official mortality statistics (Eurostat; ONS, NRS and NISRA; CDC; Statistics Canada) for 36 countries, latest years — how we calculate. Belarus is left out: deaths by cause and age aren't published together there, so the split by cause is our estimate. Population statistics, not a prediction for any individual. Educational, not medical advice.