Malaria
There were an estimated 263 million malaria cases and 597,000 deaths in 2023, according to the WHO World Malaria Report 2024. The disease remains overwhelmingly concentrated in the WHO African Region, which carries 94% of cases and 95% of deaths, and most of those who die are children under 5. After decades of progress, case numbers have risen since 2015 and are now stalling well short of global elimination targets.
Key Malaria Insights
Africa Carries Almost the Entire Burden
The WHO African Region accounted for about 94% of the world's 263 million malaria cases and 95% of its 597,000 deaths in 2023. Just five countries make up over half of all cases: Nigeria (25.9%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.6%), Uganda (4.8%), Ethiopia (3.6%) and Mozambique (3.5%). Eleven high-burden countries together account for roughly two-thirds of cases worldwide.
Young Children Are Most at Risk
Malaria kills overwhelmingly the youngest. Children under 5 make up about 76% of all malaria deaths in the WHO African Region. Most deaths are caused by Plasmodium falciparum, the most lethal malaria parasite, and a child can progress from fever to severe disease within hours, making prompt diagnosis and treatment critical.
Progress Has Stalled Since 2015
After steep declines from 2000 to 2015, progress has flattened and reversed. Cases rose from 226 million in 2015 to 263 million in 2023, and deaths spiked to 622,000 in 2020 amid COVID-19 disruptions before easing to 597,000. WHO estimates 2.2 billion cases and 12.7 million deaths were averted since 2000, but the world is far off the elimination trajectory.
Prevention Works But Funding Falls Short
Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are the cornerstone of prevention: more than 3 billion have been distributed since 2004, and in 2023 about 73% of sub-Saharan African households owned at least one, though only 52% of people slept under one. Total malaria funding reached US$4 billion in 2023 against an US$8.3 billion target, leaving a US$4.3 billion gap that threatens further gains.
Estimated Malaria Cases and Deaths Over Time
Cases in millions (left scale context); deaths in thousands
Key Finding: Cases climbed from 226 million in 2015 to 263 million in 2023, while deaths spiked to 622,000 during the 2020 COVID-19 disruptions before easing to 597,000 — progress has clearly stalled.
Top Countries by Share of Global Malaria Cases (2023)
Percent of all cases worldwide
Key Finding: Nigeria alone accounts for about a quarter of the world's malaria cases (25.9%), and just five African countries make up more than half of the global total.
Malaria Cases by WHO Region (2023)
Share of the 263 million estimated cases
Key Finding: The WHO African Region carries about 94% of all malaria cases; the South-East Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions account for most of the remainder.
Where Malaria Deaths Occur (2023)
Share of the African Region's malaria deaths by country
Key Finding: More than half of malaria deaths in the African Region occur in just four countries, led by Nigeria (30.9%) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (11.3%).
Insecticide-Treated Net Coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa (2023)
Percent of population / households
Key Finding: Although 73% of sub-Saharan African households own at least one ITN, only 52% of people actually sleep under one — and a funding gap of US$4.3 billion threatens to widen these gaps.
Understanding Malaria Data
How malaria data is collected
The WHO World Malaria Report compiles annual estimates from national malaria control programmes, household surveys, routine health-facility surveillance and modelling. In high-burden countries where many cases are never confirmed at a clinic, case and death totals are statistical estimates rather than exact counts, produced with mathematical models that adjust for under-reporting and incomplete health systems.
Key definitions
Estimated cases count clinical malaria episodes in a year, not unique people, since one person can be infected multiple times. Malaria deaths are deaths attributed to malaria, most caused by Plasmodium falciparum. ITN coverage distinguishes between household ownership of a net and actual use. The WHO African Region is one of six WHO regions and bears the overwhelming majority of the global burden.
Why estimates carry uncertainty
Because surveillance is weakest exactly where malaria is most common, published figures come with wide uncertainty ranges. Death estimates in particular depend on modelling, as many malaria deaths occur at home without a clinical diagnosis. WHO revises its entire time series with each report as methods and data improve, so figures for a given year can shift between editions.
Caveats
Comparisons across years should use a single report edition, since back-revisions mean numbers are not always comparable between reports. The 2020 spike in deaths reflects COVID-19 disruptions to services rather than a change in the parasite. Country shares describe burden, not risk to an individual traveller, and emerging threats — drug resistance, insecticide resistance and the invasive Anopheles stephensi mosquito — are not fully captured in headline totals.