In November 2025, the World Health Organisation(WHO)released its latestGlobal Tuberculosis (TB) Report As per the report,India’s TB incidence rate(new cases emerging each year) declined by 21% i.e. from 237 per lakh population (in 2015)to 187 perlakhpopulation(in 2024), which is almost double the rate of decline observed globally (i.e. at 12%).
- Despite one of the largest global reductions in TB incidence, India has not yet reached the government’s 2025 target of 77 cases per lakh population.
Highlights of Global TB Report 2025 :
Global Impact:As per the WHO’s report, tuberculosis remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, causing over 1.2 million deaths and affecting approximately 10.7 million people in 2024.
- The global TB incidence rate fell by 1.7% in 2024, reaching 131 cases per 1 lakh population compared to the 2023 rate.
Largest Contributors:The report further highlighted that together,8 countriesaccounted for67%of global TB cases in 2024, led by India (25%), followed by Indonesia (10%), the Philippines (6.8%), China (6.5%), Pakistan (6.3%), Nigeria (4.8%), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (3.9%), and Bangladesh (3.6%).
Region-wise:The report revealed thatSouth-East Asia (SEA)region registered the highest rate of TB cases i.eat 34%(in 2024) compared to all regions; followed by the Western Pacific (27%), Africa (25%), Eastern Mediterranean(8.6%), the Americas (3.3%) and Europe (1.9%).
Global Rate Falling Ill with TB:Globally, the number of people falling ill with TB decreasedto 10.7 millionin 2024, marking an improvement of nearly2%compared to 2023.
Global Death Rate:As per the report, the global rate of deaths caused by TB also declined by3%i.e. from 1.27 million people (in 2023) to 1.23 million people (in 2024),
IAS-2026 - OPTIONAL / GEOGRAPHY / PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION / SOCIOLOGY / ANTHROPOLOGY / ORIENTATION ON 03 & 04-10-2025 
