Diabetes data and statistics
Statistical publications and data sets on diabetes.
About the Virtual Diabetes Register and web tool
Each year we release national estimates of the prevalence of diabetes based on the Virtual Diabetes Register (VDR). The VDR is a tool to monitor prevalence of diabetes and support national and local clinical quality improvements.
The VDR has data about people suspected as having diabetes. These people are identified by their use of diabetes related health services. We use an algorithm to identify these people from the following data collections:
- hospital inpatient and outpatient
- laboratory test type
- pharmaceutical dispensing.
We calculate the prevalence estimates based on the number of people on the VDR during the last calendar year.
People suspected to have diabetes, who were alive and enrolled in a PHO at the 31 December of the VDR year, are included in the totals.
Across different demographic groups in the population, this web tool presents the estimated:
- numbers of people registered as having diabetes
- age-standardised prevalence of diabetes per 1000 people.
More technical information about the VDR is available in our technical guide.
VDR technical guide download
VDR latest revision
The data in this web tool for the 2024 calendar year was amended on 29 January 2026. This amendment was to:
- make sure the 2024 data was consistent with past years
- include only people enrolled with a PHO as at 31 December 2024.
The algorithm used to create the 2024 VDR has 2 output methods.
Output 1 — traditional method
The diabetes prevalence estimates are based only solely on the number of people alive and enrolled in a PHO, at 31 December of the VDR year. This output method is useful for the purposes of health service planning, for example.
The VDR web tool contains data using Output 1.
Output 1 — traditional method
The diabetes prevalence estimates are based only solely on the number of people alive and enrolled in a PHO, at 31 December of the VDR year. This output method is useful for the purposes of health service planning, for example.
The VDR web tool contains data using Output 1.
Output 2 — more inclusive version
The diabetes prevalence estimates are based on people who were alive and enrolled in a PHO at any point during the calendar year. This version can be used for both of the following.
- Better capture the population of people living with diabetes over the year of interest. This would be a useful output method when considering the cost or burden of disease over a year, for example.
- Include people that have died during the year. This allows more representative reporting of some outcomes, such as amputation rates for people with diabetes, and potentially other diabetes-related complications.
The latest version of the VDR algorithm is v689. This VDR algorithm allows for either method of diabetes prevalence calculation to be used.
You can download Output 2 data below.
Output 2 — more inclusive version
The diabetes prevalence estimates are based on people who were alive and enrolled in a PHO at any point during the calendar year. This version can be used for both of the following.
- Better capture the population of people living with diabetes over the year of interest. This would be a useful output method when considering the cost or burden of disease over a year, for example.
- Include people that have died during the year. This allows more representative reporting of some outcomes, such as amputation rates for people with diabetes, and potentially other diabetes-related complications.
The latest version of the VDR algorithm is v689. This VDR algorithm allows for either method of diabetes prevalence calculation to be used.
You can download Output 2 data below.