Type 1 diabetes in Nicaragua
T1D Index estimates for 2025 · IDF South and Central America region · Lower-Middle-Income country
An estimated 5,436 people are living with type 1 diabetes in Nicaragua in 2025. Each year about 267 people are newly diagnosed and 143 people with T1D die. A further 4,681 people would be alive today had they not died early from type 1 diabetes.
People living with T1D
5,436
New diagnoses this year
267
Deaths this year
143
Missing people
4,681
Expected age at death, diagnosed at 10
42.0years
How many people have type 1 diabetes in Nicaragua?
5,436 people in Nicaragua are living with type 1 diabetes in 2025, or 77.6 per 100,000 people. That is lower than the South and Central America average of 160.6 per 100,000 and lower than the global average of 115.5. Nicaragua has the 110th-largest number of people living with T1D of the 202 countries in the T1D Index, and the 13th-largest of the 20 countries in the IDF South and Central America region.
For every 100 people living with T1D in Nicaragua, another 86 are missing: people who would be alive today had they not died early from T1D.
Is type 1 diabetes increasing in Nicaragua?
The number of people living with T1D in Nicaragua went from 1,809 in 2000 to 5,436 in 2025, and is projected to rise to 7,380 by 2040 (+36%).
| Year | Living with T1D | New diagnoses | Deaths | Missing people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,809 | 217 | 118 | 1,854 |
| 2010 | 4,111 | 362 | 157 | 3,012 |
| 2020 | 4,944 | 227 | 165 | 4,103 |
| 2025 | 5,436 | 267 | 143 | 4,681 |
| 2030 (projected) | 6,094 | 336 | 179 | 5,316 |
| 2040 (projected) | 7,380 | 344 | 215 | 6,781 |
What is the life expectancy with type 1 diabetes in Nicaragua?
A 10-year-old diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in Nicaragua today is expected to live to 42.0, compared with 76.3 for a 10-year-old without T1D: 34.4 years of life lost. Counting years lived with complications as well, T1D costs 42.4 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 14.9 years.
| Level of care | Healthy years restored | Healthy years of life | Healthy years still lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current level of care | – | 33.9 | 42.4 |
| + Timely diagnosis for everyone | +2.8 | 36.7 | 39.6 |
| + Insulin and test strips for everyone | +17.3 | 54.0 | 22.3 |
| + Insulin pumps and CGMs for everyone | +7.4 | 61.4 | 14.9 |
How does Nicaragua compare?
| 2025 | Nicaragua | South and Central America | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| People living with T1D per 100,000 | 77.6 | 160.6 | 115.5 |
| New diagnoses per 100,000 | 3.8 | 9.0 | 6.2 |
| Missing people per 100 living with T1D | 86.1 | 45.8 | 43.0 |
| Expected age at death, 10-year-old with T1D | 42.0 | 52.4 | 51.3 |
| Expected age at death, 10-year-old in general population | 76.3 | 77.7 | 77.0 |
Type 1 diabetes in other South and Central America countries
- Honduras9,029 living with T1D
- Dominican Republic6,717 living with T1D
- Cuba6,553 living with T1D
- Paraguay6,219 living with T1D
- El Salvador5,396 living with T1D
- Costa Rica4,956 living with T1D
- Panama4,100 living with T1D
- Bolivia3,404 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.