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Global tuberculosis figures fall, but pace remains too slow

WHO reports less illness and fewer deaths, while funding and drug-resistant tuberculosis remain major obstacles.

Worldwide, fewer people fell ill and fewer people died from tuberculosis in 2025 than earlier in the decade. That is according to the World Health Organization’s new Global Tuberculosis Report, which also warns that progress is lagging behind international targets.

According to the WHO, an estimated 10.6 million people developed tuberculosis in 2025 and 1.13 million people died from the disease. The estimated number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants was 14 per cent lower than in 2015.

The decline is good news, but tuberculosis remains, according to the WHO, the leading cause of death from an infectious disease. The organisation stresses that the figures are estimates: not all cases are detected or reported, and differences between countries affect the reliability of the comparison.

Progress is also unevenly distributed. The WHO reports that global funding for tuberculosis control rose by 14 per cent between 2024 and 2025, to 5.6 billion dollars. At the same time, international funding fell by roughly the same amount, according to the organisation, leaving countries more reliant on their own resources.

Drug-resistant tuberculosis in particular remains a problem. Treatment is possible, but diagnosis and access to effective medicines are not available everywhere. The WHO warns that a lower incidence does not mean the disease is quickly being brought under control or that existing programmes can be scaled back without further funding.

The trend shows that public health programmes are delivering results, but are also vulnerable to shortfalls in funding and healthcare. The positive news is the decline since 2015; the caveat is that the world has not fully met its interim targets and that millions of people still fall ill each year.

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