There are also thought to be 549,000 people with undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes in the UK according to the figures extracted from GP patient data.
There has been an increase of 65% over the past decade of adults diagnosed with the disease and an increase of 119,965 compared to the previous year.
Diabetes UK has called for a greater focus on preventing Type 2 diabetes as more needs to be done to help people lead healthy lifestyles from the beginning to ends of their lives.
Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: “We need a concerted effort led by the Government to take active steps to address the fact that almost two in every three people in the UK are overweight or obese and are therefore at increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.
“Basic measures such as making healthy food cheaper and more accessible, introducing clearer food labelling and making it easier for people to build physical activity into their daily lives would have a profound influence.”
Diabetes UK said there is no time to waste in getting serious about providing better care and diabetes education.