It seems incredible that there are upwards of 187 million people in the world who have diabetes, but have not been diagnosed. This amount is approximately 50 percent of the people who are estimated to have diabetes! Take a look at the following chart compiled with information from the International Diabetes Foundation.
| Country | Undiagnosed Cases of Diabetes | Percentage of Total Diabetes Population Undiagnosed |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 12 million | 81% |
| Europe | 21 million | 38% |
| Middle East and North Africa | 18 million | 53% |
| North America and Caribbean | 11 million | 29% |
| South and Central America | 12 million | 45% |
| South East Asia | 36 million | 51% |
| Western Pacific | 76 million | 58% |
| Worldwide | 187 million | 50% |
What you will notice is that the poorer the geographic area, the greater the percentage of people who have diabetes but don’t know it. Scientist believe that these areas lack basic medical care, thus people are not routinely screened for diabetes. Sub-Sahara Africa leads the way with over 80 percent of cases undiagnosed. However, what is truly disturbing is that the Western Pacific region has over 75 million people that are undiagnosed. Two thirds of the undiagnosed cases in this region are in China.
While North America has the lowest percentage of undiagnosed cases, there are still over 10 million people with the disease. So, please share this if you want to raise diabetes awareness. Early diagnosis helps save lives and better quality of life!