Introduction. In Russia, there is a stable increase in the prevalence of diabetes, and the main cause of disability in patients with this disease is its micro- and macrovascular complications, in particular diabetic retinopathy. Considering that demographic statistics are widely used to assess the health status of the population in regions, and the incidence rate is used to assess the effectiveness of medical care organization, we analyzed the features of the demographic situation in the Tomsk region over 10 years, from 2013 to 2022, which could affect the overall incidence of DR. The aim of the study was to study the features of the demographic situation in the Tomsk region that affect the incidence of diabetic retinopathy. Materials and methods: Federal Diabetes Registry database, Federal Statistical Observation Form No. 12, Federal State Statistics Service https://rosstat.gov.ru/, Tomskstat https://70.rosstat.gov.ru/. Statistical analysis methods: descriptive statistics, analysis of dynamic series. Data processing was carried out using electronic tables "MSOffice Excel 2010" and the application package "Statistica" for Windows 10.0. Results. Demographic analysis for the period from 2013 to 2022 indicates a trend towards an aging population, an increase in the burden on the working-age population of the region, an increase in the proportion of persons older than working age, which is reflected in the increase in the incidence, especially in remote areas of the Tomsk region. The region has a large number of people aged 60 to 64 years. The aging coefficient of the population increased by +41.61% from 2013 and amounted to 0.17 in 2022 (RF - 0.19). The demographic burden indicator in 2022 was 680 / 1000 working-age population, which is lower than the average for the Russian Federation (749 / 1000). A large number of municipal districts of the Tomsk region, among which 97.5% are rural settlements, the presence of remote rural areas against the above-mentioned features of the demographic situation in the region, force us to look for new effective solutions for further improving medical care in the profile of "ophthalmology", and in particular, in patients with diabetic retinopathy. Moreover, the registered stable increase in the proportion of older age groups leads to a complication of the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases. This is reflected in the budget burden indicator when providing specialized medical care. Conclusion. Thus, there is a need in the subject for the development of proposals for the introduction of a new model of medical care organization in the profile of "ophthalmology" for patients with DR, taking into account the demographic features of the subject.