Type 1 diabetes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
T1D Index estimates for 2025 · IDF Africa region · Low-Income country
An estimated 25,911 people are living with type 1 diabetes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2025. Each year about 3,692 people are newly diagnosed and 2,458 people with T1D die. A further 53,078 people would be alive today had they not died early from type 1 diabetes.
People living with T1D
25,911
New diagnoses this year
3,692
Deaths this year
2,458
Missing people
53,078
Expected age at death, diagnosed at 10
23.0years
How many people have type 1 diabetes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
25,911 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are living with type 1 diabetes in 2025, or 23.0 per 100,000 people. That is lower than the Africa average of 29.7 per 100,000 and lower than the global average of 115.5. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has the 55th-largest number of people living with T1D of the 202 countries in the T1D Index, and the 4th-largest of the 49 countries in the IDF Africa region.
For every 100 people living with T1D in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, another 205 are missing: people who would be alive today had they not died early from T1D.
Is type 1 diabetes increasing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
The number of people living with T1D in the Democratic Republic of the Congo went from 2,692 in 2000 to 25,911 in 2025, and is projected to rise to 67,416 by 2040 (+160%).
People living with type 1 diabetes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2000–2040. Solid line: modelled estimates to 2025; dashed line: projection to 2040.
Type 1 diabetes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo over time, all ages
Year
Living with T1D
New diagnoses
Deaths
Missing people
2000
2,692
762
932
16,454
2010
8,056
1,522
1,457
26,913
2020
17,673
2,797
2,250
43,464
2025
25,911
3,692
2,458
53,078
2030 (projected)
37,837
5,390
3,385
65,308
2040 (projected)
67,416
7,341
5,260
101,566
What is the life expectancy with type 1 diabetes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
A 10-year-old diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today is expected to live to 23.0, compared with 67.9 for a 10-year-old without T1D: 44.9 years of life lost. Counting years lived with complications as well, T1D costs 46.7 years of healthy life at today's level of care. If everyone received timely diagnosis, insulin and test strips, and insulin pumps and CGMs, that loss would fall to 16.3 years.
Healthy years of life for a 10-year-old diagnosed with T1D in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as each level of care is added in turn
Level of care
Healthy years restored
Healthy years of life
Healthy years still lost
Current level of care
–
21.3
46.7
+ Timely diagnosis for everyone
+3.7
25.0
42.9
+ Insulin and test strips for everyone
+18.9
43.9
24.1
+ Insulin pumps and CGMs for everyone
+7.7
51.6
16.3
How does the Democratic Republic of the Congo compare?
Type 1 diabetes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo compared with the Africa region and the world, 2025
2025
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Africa
World
People living with T1D per 100,000
23.0
29.7
115.5
New diagnoses per 100,000
3.3
4.0
6.2
Missing people per 100 living with T1D
204.8
160.4
43.0
Expected age at death, 10-year-old with T1D
23.0
24.4
51.3
Expected age at death, 10-year-old in general population
All figures are T1D Index version 3.0 estimates for all ages. Missing people are those who would be alive today had they not died early from type 1 diabetes. Expected age at death is for a 10-year-old. See Data & Methods for how the estimates are made and the peer-reviewed publications behind them.
