India Had Highest TB Cases Globally in 2024, Saw 21% Drop in TB Incidence: WHO Report
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New Delhi: According to the WHO’s Global TB Report 2025, India has accounted for the highest number of tuberculosis cases globally in 2024. India’s TB incidence has also declined by 21% – from 237 cases per lakh population in 2015 to 187 per lakh in 2024 – almost double the global decline of 12%.
However, the report also stated that just eight countries account for 67% of the total number of cases globally. India is leading the list at 25%. Indonesia is at 10%, the Philippines at 6.8%, China at 6.5% and Pakistan at 6.3%. Nigeria (4.8%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.9%) and Bangladesh (3.6%) follow.
The top five countries accounted for 55% of the global total, the report says.
In addition, four countries accounted for more than half of the global number of people estimated to have developed MDR/RR-TB in 2024: India (32%), China (7.1%), the Philippines (7.1%) and the Russian Federation (6.7%).
Five countries accounted for about 60% of the gap between the estimated global number of people who developed MDR/RR-TB in 2024 (incident cases of MDR/ RR-TB) and the global number of people enrolled on treatment in 2024. India tops when it comes to a share of the global gap at 33%. The Philippines (9.3%), Indonesia (7.3%), China (6.1%) and Pakistan (4.1%) follow.
In 2024, 69% of the global number of deaths caused by TB among HIV-negative people occurred in the WHO African and South-East Asia regions.
India alone accounted for 28% of deaths globally.
But India has largely used domestic funding to tackle its TB situation.
India's TB incidence decline
Meanwhile, India's is among the highest declines in TB incidence globally, surpassing reduction rates recorded in other high-burden countries.
“India’s innovative case finding approach, driven by the swift uptake of newer technologies, decentralisation of services, and large-scale community mobilisation, has led to the country’s treatment coverage to surge to over 92% in 2024, from 53% in 2015 – with 26.18 lakh TB patients being diagnosed in 2024, out of an estimated incidence of 27 lakh cases,” the ministry release said.
The number of “missing cases” – people with TB not reported to the programme – dropped from 15 lakh in 2015 to less than one lakh in 2024 because of this approach, the ministry said. The report also noted that there has been no significant increase in multidrug-resistant TB cases.
The treatment success rate under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan rose to 90%, higher than the global average of 88%, the ministry said. India’s TB mortality rate also fell from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 21 per lakh in 2024, it added.
Since its launch in December 2024, the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan has screened over 19 crore vulnerable individuals for TB, leading to the detection of more than 24.5 lakh TB patients, including 8.61 lakh asymptomatic cases.
Note: This report was edited and republished at 4.47 pm on November 13, with additional details after publication earlier on the same day.
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