Type 1 diabetes in the Gambia
T1D Index estimates for 2025 · IDF Africa region · Low-Income country
An estimated 243 people are living with type 1 diabetes in the Gambia in 2025. Each year about 32 people are newly diagnosed and 19 people with T1D die. A further 272 people would be alive today had they not died early from type 1 diabetes.
People living with T1D
243
New diagnoses this year
32
Deaths this year
19
Missing people
272
Expected age at death, diagnosed at 10
25.3years
How many people have type 1 diabetes in the Gambia?
243 people in the Gambia are living with type 1 diabetes in 2025, or 8.6 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 Gambia has the 176th-largest number of people living with T1D of the 202 countries in the T1D Index, and the 45th-largest of the 49 countries in the IDF Africa region.
For every 100 people living with T1D in the Gambia, another 112 are missing: people who would be alive today had they not died early from T1D.
Is type 1 diabetes increasing in the Gambia?
The number of people living with T1D in the Gambia went from 10 in 2000 to 243 in 2025, and is projected to rise to 540 by 2040 (+122%).
| Year | Living with T1D | New diagnoses | Deaths | Missing people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 43 |
| 2010 | 36 | 9 | 7 | 77 |
| 2020 | 161 | 25 | 16 | 189 |
| 2025 | 243 | 32 | 19 | 272 |
| 2030 (projected) | 340 | 42 | 26 | 376 |
| 2040 (projected) | 540 | 50 | 37 | 661 |
What is the life expectancy with type 1 diabetes in the Gambia?
A 10-year-old diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the Gambia today is expected to live to 25.3, compared with 69.9 for a 10-year-old without T1D: 44.6 years of life lost. Counting years lived with complications as well, T1D costs 47.0 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 16.0 years.
| Level of care | Healthy years restored | Healthy years of life | Healthy years still lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current level of care | – | 22.8 | 47.0 |
| + Timely diagnosis for everyone | +4.3 | 27.1 | 42.8 |
| + Insulin and test strips for everyone | +19.1 | 46.2 | 23.7 |
| + Insulin pumps and CGMs for everyone | +7.7 | 53.9 | 16.0 |
How does the Gambia compare?
| 2025 | Gambia | Africa | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| People living with T1D per 100,000 | 8.6 | 29.7 | 115.5 |
| New diagnoses per 100,000 | 1.1 | 4.0 | 6.2 |
| Missing people per 100 living with T1D | 111.9 | 160.4 | 43.0 |
| Expected age at death, 10-year-old with T1D | 25.3 | 24.4 | 51.3 |
| Expected age at death, 10-year-old in general population | 69.9 | 67.5 | 77.0 |
Type 1 diabetes in other Africa countries
- Eswatini450 living with T1D
- Liberia386 living with T1D
- Comoros364 living with T1D
- Central African Republic283 living with T1D
- Cape Verde228 living with T1D
- Guinea-Bissau196 living with T1D
- Sao Tome and Principe83 living with T1D
- Western Sahara65 living with T1D
More data
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.