Insulin statistics 2025

In this article:

• Prevalence of diabetes
• Insulin use in the U.S.
• Insulin use worldwide
• Types of insulin
• Insulin prices over time
• Insulin side effects
• Insulin FAQs

In this article

• Prevalence of diabetes
• Insulin use in the U.S.
• Insulin use worldwide
• Types of insulin
• Insulin prices over time
• Insulin side effects
• Insulin FAQs

Insulin is a naturally occurring hormone that regulates blood glucose levels. People with diabetes mellitus may need pharmaceutical insulin because they are either unable to produce or appropriately respond to insulin. In the 100 years since researchers isolated insulin for medical use, insulin therapies have improved diabetes management forever. Today, at least 150 million people worldwide depend on insulin therapy to live and thrive, according to a report in the journal Cardiovascular Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Prevalence of diabetes 

Diabetes is a very common health problem. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), 38.4 million Americans have diabetes.

Diabetes statistics worldwide

• As of 2022, 830 million people worldwide were living with diabetes.
• Global diabetes prevalence quadrupled from 1990 to 2022. 
• In 2022, more than 50% of people with diabetes were not taking medication for their condition.
• In 2021, more than 2 million people died from diabetes and kidney disease worldwide. 

Source: World Health Organization (WHO), 2024

Diabetes statistics in the U.S.

• In 2021, an estimated 11.6% of the total U.S. population was living with diabetes (including undiagnosed diabetes).
• Diabetes prevalence increases with age. About 29.2% of Americans ages 65 years or older are living with diabetes.
• More American men (15.4%) than women (14.1%) have diabetes.
• About 16% of American Indian or Alaska Native Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes.
• About 12.5% of Black, non-Hispanic Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes.
• About 11.7% of Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes.
• About 10.3% of Hispanic Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes.
• About 9.2% of Asian Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes.
• About 8.5% of non-Hispanic White Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes.

Source: National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2024

Diabetes statistics by type of diabetes

It’s important to understand that there is more than one type of diabetes. Healthcare professionals divide diabetes diagnoses into four types:

• Type 1 diabetes is characterized by insufficient insulin production. 
• Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body cannot produce or respond to insulin correctly. 
• Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a type of diabetes that happens during pregnancy.
• Prediabetes is high blood sugar that advances to Type 2 Diabetes if left untreated.   

Type 1 diabetes

• About 2 million Americans have Type 1 diabetes. 
• About 304,000 U.S. children and adolescents have Type 1 diabetes. 
• In 2017-2018, an estimated 18,000 American adolescents were diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

Source: ADA, 2025

Type 2 diabetes

• Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 94% of diabetes cases in adults in the U.S. (National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2024)
• Type 2 diabetes incidence increases with age. (ADA, 2025)
• Men are slightly more likely than women to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. (Diabetologia, 2023)
• In 2018, an estimated 5,300 American youth were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. (ADA, 2025)

Gestational diabetes

• Gestational diabetes occurs in 5% to 9% of pregnancies in the United States. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2024)
• Gestational diabetes typically develops around the 24th week of pregnancy. (CDC, 2024)
• Women older than 45 are most likely to develop gestational diabetes. (International Diabetes Foundation, 2021)

Prediabetes

• About 1 in every 3 adults in the United States had prediabetes as of 2021. (National Institutes of Health, 2025)
• Nearly 80% of people with prediabetes are unaware that they have it. (CDC, 2024)
• The most substantial risk factors for prediabetes in adults are overweight and obesity. (CDC, 2024)
• People older than 35 are more likely to develop prediabetes. (Mayo Clinic, 2023)

Insulin use in the United States

“The rise of GLP-1s like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro has contributed to a shift in the entire industry of diabetes treatment, but that didn’t eliminate the need for insulin,” says Inna Melamed, Pharm.D., a functional medicine practitioner and author of Digestive Reset. “Many patients—especially those with long-standing diabetes, beta-cell failure, or Type 1 diabetes—still rely on insulin.”

• An estimated 8.4 million Americans rely on insulin to survive. (ADA, 2022)
• About 5.7% of U.S. adults with diagnosed diabetes report both having Type 1 diabetes and using insulin. (National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2024)
• About 12.3% of U.S. adults with diagnosed diabetes started using insulin within a year of their diagnosis. (National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2024)

Insulin use worldwide

• As of 2021, at least 40 companies worldwide made or marketed insulin products. (WHO, 2021)
• All people with Type 1 diabetes and 15% of people with Type 2 diabetes need insulin. (WHO, 2021)
• More than 150 million people worldwide depend on insulin therapy for health. (BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care, 2021)
• Only 50% of people who need insulin have access to it. (Doctors Without Borders, 2024)
• Only 1 in 7 Africans living with Type 1 diabetes have access to lifesaving insulin therapy. (Doctors Without Borders, 2024)

Types of insulin

There are several different types of insulin. The best kind of insulin for each person depends on the person’s diet, age, type of diabetes, and more.

Insulin can be divided into three types (JAMA, 2024):

• Human
• Analog
• Biosimilar 

From 2016 to 2020, insulin analogs and insulin biosimilars were the most commonly used insulin types in the U.S., according to JAMA. The same report stated that insulin pens and newer insulin types were gaining popularity during that period.

How many people use insulin pumps?

Most insulin pump users have Type 1 diabetes, per a 2019 report in Diabetes Spectrum. At the time of the report, more than 350,000 people in the United States used insulin pumps—a dramatic increase from fewer than 7,000 users in 1990.

Insulin prices over time

Unfortunately, the economic costs of diabetes are high. “Insulin pricing has been an issue for years,” Dr. Melamed says. “There are recent price cuts due to public and legal pressure, but the prices are still remaining high.” 

• Between 2014 and 2019, the average monthly insulin price rose from $318 to $493. (Diabetes Care, 2020)
• Between 2014 and 2019, the monthly out-of-pocket cost for insulin users with insurance coverage rose from $49 to $58. (Diabetes Care, 2020)
• Currently, the out-of-pocket cost for people without insurance is $25 to $100 per vial for older human insulins or $174 to $300 per vial for newer human analog insulins. (SingleCare, 2024)
• Currently, monthly insulin prices are capped at $35 for Medicare Part D beneficiaries with participating plans. (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2025)

Ultimately, the out-of-pocket medical cost of insulin varies widely depending on a person’s insurance coverage, insulin type, insulin delivery system, and how many vials of insulin are needed per month. 

How many Americans use insurance for insulin?

Many Americans rely on health insurance to help cover insulin costs and other diabetes-related medical care. Almost all insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid plans, cover insulin because it is considered an essential drug.

• About 52% of insulin users are Medicare beneficiaries. 
• About 33% of insulin users have private insurance.
• About 12% of insulin users are enrolled in Medicaid.
• About 2% of insulin users do not have insurance.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2022

How many Americans pay for insulin out of pocket?

From 2017 to 2018, an estimated 2.2% of insulin users—approximately 154,000 Americans—did not have insurance coverage, according to Yale University. However, it is possible that these uninsured individuals received some other form of financial assistance for insulin therapy expenditures.

Insulin side effects

In clinical trials comparing two long-acting insulins, insulin glargine (Lantus) versus insulin isophane (NPH), participants reported the following adverse reactions:

• Upper respiratory tract infection (22.4% of Lantus users and 23.1% of NPH users)
• Unspecified infection (9.4% of Lantus users and 10.3% of NPH users)
• Accidental injury (5.7% of Lantus users and 6.4% of NPH users)
• Headaches (5.5% of Lantus users and 4.7% of NPH users)

Other common insulin side effects include gastrointestinal side effects, loss of appetite, dark urine, injection site reactions (redness, swelling, or itching), and muscle pain. 

Some insulin side effects are dangerous and call for urgent medical attention. These include hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), hypokalemia (low potassium), and allergic reactions.

Frequently asked questions about insulin

Does insulin cure diabetes?

No. Insulin care manages high blood sugar from diabetes, but it does not cure diabetes.

What’s the difference between insulin and Ozempic?

Insulin and Ozempic are both injectable drugs that treat diabetes, but they work very differently. Insulin is a naturally occurring hormone that is necessary for people with Type 1 diabetes because their bodies cannot make it. Ozempic is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist that increases insulin production in people with Type 2 diabetes.

Does insulin cause weight gain?

Weight gain is a common side effect of insulin, according to the Obesity Medicine Association.