The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that Indonesia ranks fourth in terms of diabetes sufferers in the world, an Indonesian diabetes expert said in Jakarta on Thursday.

"In 2000, 8.4 million Indonesians suffered from diabetes, the figure is expected to increase to 21.3 million in 2030," said Professor Sidartawan Soegondo, metabolic endocrine and diabetes consultant at University of Indonesia's medical faculty.

Indonesia, with a population of more than 230 million, had the fourth biggest number of diabetes sufferers after China, India and the United States.

The number of prediabetes cases in Indonesia was also high, reaching 12.9 million in 2003, the fifth biggest in the world. The figure was expected to increase to 20.9 million in 2025, he said.

Ironically, only about 50 percent of diabetes sufferers in Indonesia realized they had the disease and 30 percent of sufferers have regular checkups, Soegondo said.

Source: Xinhua

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