TODAY is World Diabetes Day to raise awareness about a condition currently affecting 1.7mil Australians.

World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organisation in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes.

World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2006.

It is the world's largest diabetes awareness campaign reaching a global audience of over 1billion people in more than 160 countries.

The campaign draws attention to issues of paramount importance to the diabetes world and keeps diabetes firmly in the public and political spotlight.

In Australia:

• 280 Australians develop diabetes every day. That's one person every five minutes.
• Around 1.7 million Australians have diabetes. This includes all types of diagnosed diabetes (1.2 million known and registered) as well as silent, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (up to 500,000 estimated).
• More than 100,000 Australians have developed diabetes in the past year.
• For every person diagnosed with diabetes there is usually a family member or carer who also 'lives with diabetes' every day in a support role. This means that an estimated 2.4 million Australians are affected by diabetes every day.
• Total annual cost impact of diabetes in Australia estimated at $14.6 billion.

Here are ten surprising facts about diabetes globally.

1: There is an emerging global epidemic of diabetes that can be traced back to rapid increases in overweight, obesity and physical inactivity.

2: Total deaths from diabetes are projected to rise by more than 50% in the next 10 years. Most notably, they are projected to increase by over 80% in upper-middle income countries.

3: Type 1 diabetes is characterized by a lack of insulin production and type 2 diabetes results from the body's ineffective use of insulin.

4: Type 2 diabetes is much more common than type 1 diabetes, and accounts for around 90% of all diabetes worldwide.

5: Reports of type 2 diabetes in children, which were previously rare, have increased worldwide.

In some countries, it accounts for almost half of newly diagnosed cases in children and adolescents.

6: A third type of diabetes is gestational diabetes.

This type is characterized by hyperglycaemia, or raised blood sugar, which is first recognized during pregnancy.

7: In 2005, 1.1million people died from diabetes.

The full impact is much larger, because although people may live for years with diabetes, their cause of death is often recorded as heart diseases or kidney failure.

8: 80% of diabetes deaths are now occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

9: Lack of awareness about diabetes, combined with insufficient access to health services, can lead to complications such as blindness, amputation and kidney failure.

10: Diabetes can be prevented. Thirty minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days and a healthy diet can drastically reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.