Tuberculosis
An estimated 10.8 million people fell ill with tuberculosis in 2023 and 1.25 million died, returning TB to its place as the world's leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. Two thirds of cases are concentrated in just eight countries, led by India, and drug-resistant TB remains a stubborn threat. Drug-susceptible TB is now cured in about 88% of treated patients.
Key Tuberculosis Insights
The World's Top Infectious Killer Again
TB caused an estimated 1.25 million deaths in 2023, including 1.09 million among HIV-negative people and 161,000 among people living with HIV. That made TB once more the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, having overtaken COVID-19. TB deaths fell 5.7% from 1.32 million in 2022, but the COVID-19 disruptions of 2020-2023 still caused close to 700,000 excess TB deaths.
Cases Hit a Record High
An estimated 10.8 million people developed TB in 2023, up from 10.1 million in 2020, 10.4 million in 2021 and 10.7 million in 2022 - three straight years of rising incidence and the highest count since WHO monitoring began. The incidence rate of 134 per 100,000 has fallen just 8.3% since 2015, far short of the End TB Strategy milestone of a 50% cut by 2025.
Burden Concentrated in a Few Countries
Most cases are in the WHO South-East Asia (45%), African (24%) and Western Pacific (17%) regions. Eight countries account for two thirds of the global total: India (26%), Indonesia (10%), China (6.8%), the Philippines (6.8%), Pakistan (6.3%), Nigeria (4.6%), Bangladesh (3.5%) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.1%). The highest rates per capita are in the African Region.
Drug Resistance Outpaces Treatment
About 400,000 people developed multidrug-resistant or rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB) in 2023, yet only 44% were diagnosed and started on treatment. Treatment success for MDR/RR-TB has risen to 68%, well below the 88% achieved for drug-susceptible TB. TB remains both preventable and curable, and an estimated 79 million lives have been saved through diagnosis and treatment since 2000.
TB Incidence vs Deaths Over Time (2000-2023)
Estimated cases and deaths, millions per year
Key Finding: TB deaths have fallen since 2000, but estimated cases rose to a record 10.8 million in 2023 after pandemic disruptions reversed years of progress.
TB Cases by WHO Region (2023)
Estimated incident cases, millions
Key Finding: The South-East Asia Region alone accounts for 45% of cases (4.9 million), with Africa (2.55 million) and the Western Pacific (1.88 million) next.
Top Countries by Share of Global TB (2023)
Percent of all TB cases worldwide
Key Finding: Just eight countries make up about two thirds of global TB. India alone accounts for roughly a quarter of all cases.
Drug-Resistant TB: The Treatment Gap (2023)
Of an estimated 400,000 MDR/RR-TB cases
Key Finding: Only about 44% of the estimated 400,000 people who developed MDR/RR-TB in 2023 were diagnosed and started on treatment.
Treatment Success Rate by TB Type
Percent of treated patients successfully cured
Key Finding: Drug-susceptible TB is cured in about 88% of cases, but success for multidrug-resistant TB lags at 68%.
Understanding Tuberculosis Data
Where the data comes from
Figures are drawn from the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2024, which compiles data from 193 countries and areas covering over 99% of the world's population and TB cases. WHO produces annual estimates of TB incidence and mortality using national notification data, prevalence surveys, vital registration systems and statistical modelling. Most headline figures here refer to the 2023 data year.
Key definitions
TB incidence is the estimated number of people who develop active TB in a year. TB notifications are the cases actually diagnosed and reported (8.2 million in 2023). MDR/RR-TB is TB resistant to rifampicin, with or without resistance to isoniazid. Treatment success means a patient was cured or completed treatment. Deaths are split between HIV-negative people and people living with HIV.
Why estimates carry uncertainty
Many people with TB are never diagnosed, so totals rely on modelling and carry uncertainty intervals - for example, 10.8 million cases has a range of 10.1-11.7 million. Surveillance quality varies between countries, and gaps are wider in settings with weak vital registration. WHO revises historical estimates each year as new survey data arrives.
Caveats
The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted TB services in 2020-2021, lowering reported cases before a rebound; comparisons across those years should be read with care. Incidence shares by region and country are based on WHO estimates rather than exact case counts, and small changes between report editions are normal as data are updated.