Diabetes: Australian facts

How many deaths are associated with diabetes in Australia?

According to the National Mortality Database, diabetes was among the 10 leading causes of death of Australians (ABS 2025), contributing to around 20,800 deaths in 2024 (11% of all deaths, 77 deaths per 100,000 population). Diabetes was the underlying cause of death in around 6,000 deaths (29% of diabetes deaths, 22 deaths per 100,000 population). It was an associated cause of death in a further 14,900 deaths (71% of diabetes deaths).

Where diabetes was listed as the underlying and/or associated cause of death:

• 4.3% were due to type 1 diabetes 
• 63% were due to type 2 diabetes
• 33% were due to other or unspecified diabetes.

Note: Examining only the underlying cause of death can underestimate the impact of diabetes on mortality (Harding et al. 2014). This is because it is often not diabetes itself that leads directly to death, but one of its complications that will be listed as the underlying cause on the death certificate. See Diseases commonly associated with diabetes deaths for further information. Further, deaths from diabetes are known to be under-reported in national mortality statistics, as diabetes is often omitted from death certificates as a cause of death (McEwen et al. 2011; Whittall et al. 1990).

Variation by age and sex

In 2024, mortality rates for diabetes (as the underlying and/or associated cause):

• increased with increasing age, with rates 2.3 times as high in those aged 85 and over compared with those aged 80–84 and 4.3 times as high as those aged 75–79 (Figure 1)
• were highest in those aged 85 and over for both males and females at 1,600 and 1,200 per 100,000 population, respectively
• were 1.7 times as high in males compared with females, after controlling for age.

Trends over time

Age-standardised mortality rates for diabetes (as the underlying and/or associated cause) remained relatively stable from 2000 to 2021. A 10% increase was observed between 2021 and 2022, followed by a decline through to 2024. The increase between 2021 and 2022 should be interpreted in the context of higher overall mortality in 2022, with most excess deaths attributed to or associated with COVID-19 (ABS 2023a). People with pre-existing chronic conditions like diabetes were at high risk of getting COVID-19 and had more severe outcomes from the infection. Diabetes was a pre-existing condition among 16% of people who died from the COVID-19 virus in deaths registered up to February 2023 (ABS 2023b). 

Between 2000 and 2024:

• total deaths related to diabetes increased from 5,400 to 12,000 for males and 4,700 to 8,900 for females
• age-standardised mortality rates for diabetes (underlying and/or associated cause) were consistently 1.6–1.7 times as high among males as females (Figure 2).

Variation by priority population groups

Remoteness area

In 2024, after adjusting for differences in the age profile of the populations, diabetes death rates (as the underlying and/or associated cause) increased with the level of remoteness with rates being 2.3 times as high for people living in Remote and very remote areas as those in Major cities. This disparity was more pronounced among females than males (2.7 and 2.0 times as high, respectively) (Figure 3).

Socioeconomic area

In 2024, diabetes death rates (as the underlying and/or associated cause) increased with increasing levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. The age-standardised death rate was 2.4 times as high among people living in the lowest socioeconomic areas as those living in the highest socioeconomic areas (Figure 3).  

For information for First Nations people see chapter for First Nations people.