The Nephron Network

Kidney disease statistics for India

Compiled 2026-09-05. The figures below are education data — read alongside the guides and the directory.

This is a citation reference: every figure names its source and year so writers can check it and parents and families can trust it. Figures are reviewed again on or before 2026-10-05.

Burden of chronic kidney disease

Published population studies give the clearest picture of how common chronic kidney disease (CKD) is among adults in India. These are screening-estimate figures and present the size of the problem, not routine diagnosis counts.

Chronic kidney disease prevalence in a surveyed Delhi adult population17.2% of adults screened

Source: Singh AK, Farag YM, Mittal BV, et al. Chronic kidney disease in the Delhi adult population (Kidney International, 2013). (year: 2013) — open source. A landmark community-screening estimate of CKD in India; widely cited in nephrology literature.

Global deaths attributable to chronic kidney disease≈ 1.3 million in 2019

Source: GBD 2019 — Global Burden of Disease renal estimates, The Lancet. (year: 2019) — open source. India carries one of the largest national shares of this global burden.

Diabetes prevalence in India (leading driver of kidney disease)≈ 77 million adults affected

Source: International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas. (year: 2021) — open source. Diabetic kidney disease is the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease in India; hypertension is the other major driver.

Diagnosis and treatment access

The gap between who needs treatment and who receives it is the largest single problem in Indian kidney care. The figures below come from healthcare-access studies and national registries.

Estimated share of Indians with end-stage kidney disease who reach dialysis or a transplantRoughly 1 in 10

Source: National and international nephrology population estimates (screened-treatment-gap analyses reported across ISN and ICMR literature). (year: 2015–2023) — open source. Consistently cited estimate: most people with end-stage kidney disease in India never initiate renal replacement therapy.

Community surveys of adults screened for CKD markers in Indian statesPrevalence ranges roughly 6–11% across states

Source: State-level CKD screening studies reported in Indian Journal of Nephrology and Kidney International Reports. (year: 2019–2023) — open source. Regional figures vary with age distribution and diabetes burden; they reinforce that CKD is common and often undiagnosed.

Public dialysis-centre expansion under the National Program for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable DiseasesHundreds of new district-level centres since 2016

Source: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, NP-NCD programme documentation. (year: 2016–2023) — open source. Access is improving, but the conversation with families remains: prevention and early testing prevent most CKD progression.

Transplantation and donation

Transplantation is the most successful treatment for end-stage kidney disease. India's own data, published by its national transplant organisation, is the reference everyone cites.

Deceased (brain-death) organ donors registered in India874 in the reported national year

Source: National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) — national donation statistics reported by MoHFW. (year: 2023) — open source. The number is growing year on year; it remains far below the country's transplant need. The nephron network is donation-education, never commerce.

Share of kidney transplants in India that use living donorsThe large majority, by national reporting

Source: NOTTO / Indian Society of Nephrology transplant registry summaries. (year: 2020–2023) — open source. India's transplant system is built on regulated living donation under THOTA. Never buy, never sell — donation is altruistic and only through approved pathways.

Legal framework governing transplantation in IndiaTHOTA, 1994

Source: Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 (as amended), Ministry of Law. (year: 1994) — open source. The law governs both living and deceased donation; the NOTTO website carries the current rules and procedures.

How to cite this page. Writers and journalists may quote these figures without permission as long as the named source and year are preserved, and you include a link to this page or the underlying source. We ask for the same accuracy we give: check the primary source before publishing.
Education, not advice. Statistics describe populations; they do not describe any individual. Only a qualified clinician can interpret what kidney disease means for you or a family member.