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TB Remains Deadly Scourge, Claiming Over 1.2 Million Lives in 2024
16 Nov
Summary
- TB affected an estimated 107 million people globally in 2024
- India, Indonesia, Philippines, China, Pakistan among countries with highest TB burden
- India's TB incidence dropped by 21% from 2015 to 2024
According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report 2025, released just last week, tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases. In 2024, TB affected an estimated 107 million people globally and claimed over 1.2 million lives.
The report highlights that 87% of the world's TB patients were concentrated in just 30 countries, with the highest rates found in India (25%), Indonesia (10%), the Philippines (6.8%), China (6.5%), and Pakistan (6.3%). Despite progress in diagnosis, treatment, and innovation, persistent challenges in funding and equitable access to care threaten to reverse hard-won gains in the global fight against TB.
While India has a large volume of TB cases, the country has seen a significant decline in incidence, dropping by 21% from 237 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 187 per 100,000 in 2024 - nearly double the global rate of decline. However, the disease continues to pose serious health, social, and economic challenges, including a high burden of drug-resistant TB, weak healthcare infrastructure, and socio-economic disparities affecting access to diagnosis and treatment.
