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Abstract: Aim: To examine differences in morbidity and rates of hospital admission between diabetes patients and patients without diabetes in New Zealand. Methods: A 1123 and 11,325 patients with Types 1 and 2 diabetes in the Southlink Health diabetes register were identified. Types 1 and 2 diabetes patients were matched with non-diabetic patients drawn from primary care patient registers. Hospital admission rates for diabetic complications and general medical conditions, length of stay in hospital, patients readmitted, deaths in hospital and hospital procedures were analyzed for the 3-year period from 2000 to 2002. Results: Diabetes patients were more likely to be admitted to hospital for any reason than patients without diabetes (odds ratio (OR) 2.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.13–3.04, p <0.001 for Type 1 patients; OR 1.40, CI 1.33–1.48, p <0.001 for Type 2 patients). A 46% (770) of all admissions for Type 1 patients were due to complications arising from diabetes and 33% (4685) for Type 2 patients. Major complications included ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, cataracts and conditions specific to diabetes. Conclusions: Increasing prevalence of diabetes will increase demand for hospital services overall, and particularly for inpatient care related to macroangiopathy, ophthalmic and renal problems and peripheral circulatory disorders. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]