Diabetes is something most of us don’t consider a risk until it strikes, for which the probability is quite high in each of the 11 countries with the highest diabetes rates in the world. Just like in our previous list of the 11 countries with the highest cancer rates, the occurrence of this certain disease are far more in these countries than in the rest of the world for one reason or another.
Diabetes has been recorded and observed since the early known civilizations. First characterized by excessive urinating, “diabetes” literally translates to “to pass through”. The term was first seen in usage in an ancient Greek doctor’s diary. In the early ages of civilization, diabetes was known under various names which were mainly associated with its symptoms, such as “honey urine” in India, where doctors observed that patients’ urine attracts ants. However, in the distant past, diabetes was considered a rarity. This is mainly attributed to the physically active lifestyle and balanced diet that people from ancient times had. With the combination of those two, developing diabetes, especially type two, is not easy. However, nowadays people tend to live quite unhealthy and in a quite unhealthy environment. Type two diabetes caused by excessive weight and lack of exercise, which in turn builds up insulin tolerance, has gained immense prevalence, especially in developed countries. Furthermore, type 1 diabetes cases have increased too. The cause behind type one diabetes remains unknown to this day but the disease mainly manifests itself through the destruction of beta cells and thus, insulin.
The problem with both types of diabetes is mainly in the fact that people who are considered healthy or not otherwise prone to obesity or bad lifestyle related diseases can have it. To make matters worse, diabetes in its early stages is barely recognizable due to its generally unspecific symptoms. However, early response to the disease is the key to proper blood sugar levels maintenance for the future. Medical details aside, let’s take a look at the eleven countries with the highest diabetes rates in their population.
11. French Polynesia
French Polynesia is basically a French territory with a certain level of independence spread across a multitude of islands. Taking the cases of diabetes against the number of the population puts French Polynesia in the 11th spot in the world.
10. Qatar
The controversial to-be (at the time of writing) home of the 2022 FIFA world cup has further problems than corruption and slave labor. Taking the tenth spot, Qatar also has a particularly high incidence of diabetes.
9. Kuwait
Kuwait is located in a region where sweet foods are particularly popular and people live a more and more unhealthy life as age their progress, making Kuwait the ninth more diabetes abundant place.
8. Nauru
Nauru is an island country in the Micronesia region which aside from being beautiful and peaceful, also has the eighth highest incidence of diabetes per the number of its population.
7. Saudi Arabia
Much like Qatar and Kuwait, people in Saudi Arabia have a sweet tooth, mainly due to their rich in sugar culture. Saudi Arabia takes the seventh place in the list of highest diabetes incidence globally.
6. Vanuatu
The small in population, 80-island nation of Vanuatu takes the sixth place in the list of the eleven countries with the highest diabetes rates in the world per its population.
5. Cook Islands
Another Pacific archipelago, the Cook Islands take the fifth spot in global diabetes prevalence per the number of the country’s population in our list.
4. Kiribati
Kiribati takes the fourth spot in this list. However, aside from diabetes, the people of Kiribati are mostly treated for food poisonings and drinking contaminated water.
3. Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands are a nation of over a thousand islands and about seventy thousand people of which enough suffer from diabetes to bring the Marshall Islands to the third position in this list.
2. Federal States of Micronesia
The Federal States of Micronesia are another small Pacific nation which has a high statistic density of diabetes case. Aside from that, people from a specific island there suffer from an extremely prevalent form of color blindness.
1. Tokelau
The nation of Tokelau heads the list of the 11 countries with the highest diabetes rates in the world in statistical density. For the number of its population, Tokelau has the most diabetes cases in the world.
