In 2024 a reckoned 10.7 million people fell ill with TB (95% uncertainty interval: 9.9-11.5 million).
The estimated incidence rate in 2024 was about 131 cases per 1 Lakh population.
There were about 1.23 million deaths from TB in 2024.
The global decline in incidence and deaths had been stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic years, but 2024 saw the first reversal of the upward incidence trend: both incidence rate and number of people falling ill decreased in 2024.
The burden is heavily concentrated: eight countries accounted for ≈ 67% of global TB cases. These countries are: India (25 %), Indonesia (10 %), Philippines (6.8 %), China (6.5 %), Pakistan (6.3 %), Nigeria (4.8 %), Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.9 %), and Bangladesh (3.6 %).
The report warns that although the slight improvement is welcome, progress is far short of what is needed to meet the established targets under the End TB Strategy.
The report says that 8 countries have most of the world’s TB cases.
India is number one, followed by countries like Indonesia, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, and a few others.
This means that to end TB globally, these countries must improve faster.
Many countries don’t have enough money to support TB programs.
Without proper money, we cannot:
- Find cases early
- Give free medicines
- Train health staff
- Improve labs and testing
The world has made a little progress — but it’s not enough to meet global TB goals for 2025 and 2030.
To really beat TB, countries need to:
- Find more cases early
- Make testing and treatment easier
- Support poor families
- Increase health budgets
- Use new tools (better tests, better medicines, vaccines)
India still has the highest number of TB patients in the world.
But India is also improving — slowly but steadily.
To eliminate TB, India needs:
- Faster testing
- Strong village-level healthcare
- Better nutrition programs
- Support for poor TB patients
- Awareness in every community
HARMONIOUS REPORT