Global TB Deaths Reach 1.13 Million in 2025, WHO Reports
The World Health Organization reports over 1.13 million deaths from tuberculosis in 2025, highlighting significant ongoing challenges in combating the disease.
NEW DELHI, Nov 14: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1.13 million people died from tuberculosis (TB) in 2025. This data comes from the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2026, released on November 12, 2026.
In 2025, an estimated 10.6 million individuals globally developed TB, which remains the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. TB disproportionately affects certain populations: 54% of cases are in men, 35% in women, and 11% in children.
The report indicates that TB incidence and mortality rates have declined since 2015, with a 35% reduction in deaths attributed to the disease. However, progress has been uneven across regions, with the WHO South-East Asia Region accounting for 35% of new cases.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, stated, “The continued decline in TB cases and deaths is very encouraging, especially given the challenges many countries have faced from funding cuts.” He emphasized that more than one million people still lose their lives to TB each year, calling for urgent expansion of access to TB services.
Drug-resistant TB remains a significant challenge; in 2025, only 42% of the estimated 370,000 people with rifampicin-resistant TB received treatment. Major gaps in timely diagnosis persist, with around 2.2 million people either undiagnosed or unreported out of 10.6 million cases.
In terms of economic burden, nearly 50% of TB patients and their households face catastrophic costs from the disease. While India has seen a 38% reduction in TB mortality since 2015, contributing to a global success rate of 94% for treatment among drug-susceptible TB cases, the country continues to report approximately 25% of all global TB cases.
Some improvements have been made, but WHO warns that investment in TB research remains critically low, with funding at only $1.2 billion in 2023, far below the $5 billion needed annually. The organization is urging countries to strengthen financing for TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment and to accelerate the development of new tools.