Dementia: five charts that help explain Britain’s biggest killer

From a diagnosis lottery to a spiralling bill we look at the UK’s battle with the disease

The number of people living with dementia in England is at an all-time high, with close to half a million diagnosed cases as of June 2024.

Dementia – Britain’s biggest killer – is an umbrella term for many conditions and affects more than 55 million people worldwide. In England, about 7,000 people are diagnosed every month.