Diabetes in India: what the national survey found

The ICMR-INDIAB study is the largest measurement of metabolic disease ever run in India: a population-based survey of adults aged 20 and over, sampled across 31 states, union territories and the National Capital Territory, with glucose actually measured rather than self-reported.

Its 2023 report estimated 101 million people in India living with diabetes and 136 million with prediabetes. Both figures were substantially higher than earlier national estimates.

Why the prediabetes figure is the striking one

136 million people sit in a range that produces no symptoms at all. Prediabetes is not a disease you feel; it is a laboratory finding, discovered when somebody happens to test. That is the entire argument for testing rather than waiting — and the reason a page like this exists.

Why Indian bodies are affected at lower weights

South Asians tend to develop type 2 diabetes at lower body-mass indexes and at younger ages than European populations, with more fat carried around the abdomen at the same weight. This is why Indian guidance uses lower BMI action points than the international classification — a subject covered properly on our sister site SehatCheck. It also means "I am not overweight" is a weaker reassurance in India than the international charts imply.

What the number does not mean

It does not mean you have it. National prevalence says nothing about any individual, and a survey estimate is not a reason for alarm about your own health. It is a reason to have a test if you have not had one, and to take the result to a doctor when you do.