The number of diabetes sufferers in Africa remains uncertain, although and IDF estimate from 2000 put the figure at 7.5 million diabetic adults between 20 and 79 years of age. It is thought that this figure is now much larger.
The WHO (World Health Organisation) and the IDF (International Diabetes Federation) estimate that the diabetes population will double over the next twenty five years in Adrica.
This raises enormous healthcare questions, as all African countries are already struggling to cope with the diabetes burden. Awareness is regarded as being poor, and the concentrations of the disease vary considerably between different ethnic groups.
Type 1 diabetes, although still rare in many areas, is becoming increasingly more prevalent. IGT (Impaired Glucose Tolerance) is also becoming problematic, and exceeds 30 per cent in many African countries.
The World Health Organisation estimated the following diabetes populations by country for 2000, and 2030.
| Country | 2000 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 426,000 | 1,203,000 |
| Angola | 51,000 | 140,000 |
| Benin | 87,000 | 266,000 |
| Botswana | 25,000 | 45,000 |
| Burkina Faso | 124,000 | 388,000 |
| Burundi | 26,000 | 72,000 |
| Cameroon | 70,000 | 171,000 |
| Cape Verde | 7,000 | 24,000 |
| CAR | 18,000 | 46,000 |
| Chad | 97,000 | 269,000 |
| Comoros | 4,000 | 15,000 |
| Congo | 14,000 | 39,000 |
| Côte d’Ivoire | 264,000 | 636,000 |
| DR Congo | 291,000 | 910,000 |
| Eq. Guinea | 8,000 | 21,000 |
| Eritrea | 65,000 | 142,000 |
| Ethiopia | 796,000 | 1,820,000 |
| Gabon | 8,000 | 14,000 |
| Gambia | 22,000 | 61,000 |
| Ghana | 302,000 | 851,000 |
| Guinea | 34,000 | 89,000 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 17,000 | 44,000 |
| Kenya | 183,000 | 498,000 |
| Lesotho | 31,000 | 42,000 |
| Liberia | 40,000 | 154,000 |
| Madagascar | 100,000 | 301,000 |
| Malawi | 65,000 | 118,000 |
| Mali | 140,000 | 405,000 |
| Mauritania | 34,000 | 103,000 |
| Mauritius | 111,000 | 233,000 |
| Mozambique | 133,000 | 291,507 |
| Namibia | 25,000 | 60,000 |
| Niger | 108,000 | 382,000 |
| Nigeria | 1,707,000 | 4,835,000 |
| Rwanda | 30,000 | 77,000 |
| Sao Tome | 1,000 | 2,000 |
| Senegal | 143,000 | 421,000 |
| Seychelles | 8,000 | 19,000 |
| Sierra Leone | 65,000 | 178,000 |
| South Africa | 814,000 | 1,286,000 |
| Swaziland | 13,000 | 21,000 |
| Togo | 64,000 | 184,000 |
| Uganda | 98,000 | 328,000 |
| UR Tanzania | 201,000 | 605,000 |
| Zambia | 70,000 | 186,000 |
| Zimbabwe | 108,000 | 265,000 |
| Total | 7,020,000 | 18,234,000 |
