TOP 10 Countries by Tuberculosis Incidence (2025)
WHO 2025 report snapshot · Tuberculosis incidence
Where Tuberculosis Burden Is Most Intense in the Latest WHO Snapshot
Tuberculosis incidence measures the estimated number of new and relapse TB cases arising in one year, expressed per 100,000 people. It is one of the clearest rate-based measures of how intensely active TB is circulating in a population, because it adjusts for population size instead of simply counting absolute cases.
The latest complete country estimates in the WHO 2025 reporting cycle refer to 2024. Values should therefore be read as a 2025 report snapshot of 2024 incidence, not as final calendar-year 2025 country rates. Globally, WHO estimated 10.7 million incident TB cases in 2024 and a global incidence rate of 131 per 100,000 people.
Overview: what the 2024 TB incidence ranking shows
The top of the TB incidence ranking is concentrated in three types of settings: small Pacific island countries with very high per-capita rates, countries with large ongoing transmission in Asia and the Pacific, and African countries where TB interacts with HIV, poverty, mining exposure, conflict or weak diagnostic coverage. The ranking is led by Kiribati, followed by Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.
The list does not mean these countries have the largest number of TB cases in absolute terms. WHO reports that eight countries account for about two thirds of global TB cases: India, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Bangladesh. A rate ranking is about individual population-level risk; an absolute-burden ranking is about the largest number of people affected.
Highest incidence rate
Kiribati · 945
Estimated new and relapse TB cases per 100,000 people in 2024.
Global average
131
WHO global incidence rate per 100,000 population in 2024.
Top 10 range
945 to 419
The tenth-ranked country still sits more than three times above the global rate.
Important limitation
Modelled
TB incidence is estimated from notifications, surveys, inventories and models; it is not directly counted.
Top 10 countries by tuberculosis incidence
The Top 10 is not a simple list of the poorest countries. It combines compact island systems, large Asian transmission settings, southern African TB-HIV settings and fragile or resource-constrained countries. Kiribati is the clear outlier at 945 per 100,000, while Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Lesotho, Timor-Leste, Djibouti and Myanmar form a second very high-incidence band above 480 per 100,000.
945 per 100,000
Small population, crowded living conditions and limited health-system scale make the rate extremely high even when the absolute number of cases is small.
664 per 100,000
A high-burden Western Pacific setting where geographic access, diagnostic reach and treatment continuity are central constraints.
625 per 100,000
The Philippines combines a very high rate with a large population, which is why it also appears among the countries with the largest absolute TB burdens.
548 per 100,000
Southern Africa’s TB burden is closely connected to HIV prevalence, mining-related exposure, poverty and barriers to continuous care.
496 per 100,000
The country remains in a very high-rate group despite a much smaller absolute burden than the largest Asian high-burden countries.
495 per 100,000
Djibouti’s high rate reflects a compact population, regional mobility and the difficulty of detecting and treating TB early in vulnerable groups.
482 per 100,000
Conflict, displacement and disrupted health services make TB control harder, even where a national programme has long existed.
446 per 100,000
Mongolia’s rate is shaped by urban crowding, winter indoor exposure, occupational risks and the challenge of finding cases early.
422 per 100,000
Namibia remains high by global standards, although the 2024 estimate shows a year-on-year decline in the point estimate.
419 per 100,000
Conflict, fragile health infrastructure and incomplete diagnostic reach make estimates uncertain and TB control difficult.
Ranking table: tuberculosis incidence per 100,000 people
The table lists the Top 20 countries and territories in the 2024 World Bank / WHO-derived incidence series. Ranks 1–10 form the main ranking; rows 11–20 show the cutoff and help readers see which countries sit just below the highest-incidence group.
| Rank | Country / territory | Incidence per 100,000 | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiribati | 945 | +4.07% |
| 2 | Papua New Guinea | 664 | +2.63% |
| 3 | Philippines | 625 | −1.11% |
| 4 | Lesotho | 548 | −6.16% |
| 5 | Timor-Leste | 496 | +9.01% |
| 6 | Djibouti | 495 | +3.77% |
| 7 | Myanmar | 482 | 0.00% |
| 8 | Mongolia | 446 | −0.45% |
| 9 | Namibia | 422 | −2.31% |
| 10 | Central African Republic | 419 | −2.10% |
| 11 | Marshall Islands | 411 | −55.71% |
| 12 | South Africa | 389 | −8.90% |
| 13 | Indonesia | 382 | −1.55% |
| 14 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | 377 | −2.08% |
| 15 | Angola | 373 | −2.61% |
| 16 | Sierra Leone | 372 | −2.11% |
| 17 | Gabon | 371 | −2.37% |
| 18 | Mozambique | 361 | 0.00% |
| 19 | South Sudan | 320 | −1.84% |
| 20 | Eswatini | 319 | −2.15% |
Source: World Bank Health Nutrition and Population Statistics indicator SH.TBS.INCD, based on WHO Global Tuberculosis Report estimates. Latest data year: 2024. Values are estimated new and relapse TB cases per 100,000 people; YoY change is the change in the point estimate versus 2023. The default view highlights the Top 10, while rows 11–20 remain available for context.
Important data note: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is not ranked here because the WHO 2025 incidence chapter states that its incidence estimates are currently under review. This avoids mixing reviewed point estimates with a country series that WHO does not display in the current high-burden trend chart.
Chart: Top 10 TB incidence rates
The chart shows the Top 10 rates in descending order. The global average of 131 per 100,000 is far below even the tenth-ranked country, which shows how concentrated the highest per-capita TB burden remains.
Top 10 values: Kiribati 945; Papua New Guinea 664; Philippines 625; Lesotho 548; Timor-Leste 496; Djibouti 495; Myanmar 482; Mongolia 446; Namibia 422; Central African Republic 419.
The Top 10 values are also listed below the chart area and in the table, so the ranking remains readable even without the interactive chart.
Methodology
The indicator is estimated tuberculosis incidence per 100,000 people per year. It includes new and relapse TB cases, all forms of TB, and cases among people living with HIV. Because TB is frequently underdiagnosed or not reported, incidence cannot be measured by simply counting notified cases. WHO estimates incidence using multiple methods, depending on the evidence available for each country.
International comparability is imperfect. Countries with strong surveillance may detect more cases, while countries with weak access to diagnostics can have larger uncertainty intervals. Conflict, displacement, private-sector underreporting and sudden changes in screening campaigns can move the point estimate from one year to the next. This is why small rank differences should not be overinterpreted.
Insights from the ranking
Upper tier: rates above 480 per 100,000
The first seven entries are in an extreme incidence band. Kiribati is the outlier, while Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Lesotho, Timor-Leste, Djibouti and Myanmar sit close enough that uncertainty and revisions can matter. The shared pattern is not one single cause; it is the interaction of transmission, diagnostic gaps and social conditions.
Middle tier: ranks 8–14
Mongolia, Namibia, Central African Republic, Marshall Islands, South Africa, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo show how different TB epidemics can produce similar rates. Some are small-population settings; others are large countries where even a rank outside the Top 10 can still represent a very large number of people affected.
Lower tier of this table: ranks 15–20
Angola, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Mozambique, South Sudan and Eswatini remain far above the global incidence rate. Several show year-on-year declines in the point estimate, but a rate above 300 per 100,000 still signals intense transmission and a need for stronger prevention, case-finding and treatment continuity.
What this means for readers
For public-health readers, the ranking separates per-capita intensity from absolute burden. A small island country can have a very high rate, while a much larger country can account for many more total cases. For donors and policy teams, the table points to settings where targeted screening, TB-HIV integration, preventive therapy, nutrition support and reliable drug supply can have high local value.
For general readers, the ranking makes one practical point clear: TB is shaped by social conditions as well as bacteria. Crowding, undernutrition, HIV, diabetes, mobility, conflict and interrupted access to diagnosis can all contribute to high incidence. The table is best used as a public-health context tool, not as a personal medical-risk guide.
The most useful reading is to pair incidence rates with absolute case counts. The highest-rate countries need intensive national control, but the largest global reductions also depend on countries with huge absolute burdens, including India, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Bangladesh.
FAQ
What does tuberculosis incidence mean?
It means the estimated number of new and relapse TB cases that arise in a year, expressed per 100,000 people. It is a rate, not an absolute count, so it allows comparison between countries with very different population sizes.
Why is this called a 2025 report if the data year is 2024?
The WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025 is the latest reporting cycle, but its complete country estimates refer to 2024. The honest title is therefore a 2025 report snapshot using 2024 estimates.
Why is Kiribati ranked first?
Kiribati has the highest point estimate in the 2024 World Bank / WHO-derived incidence series: 945 per 100,000. In small-population countries, compact communities and health-system limits can produce very high per-capita rates even when the absolute number of cases is small.
Why is DPRK not included?
WHO’s 2025 TB incidence chapter states that incidence estimates for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are currently under review. For that reason, this page does not rank the country in the current table.
Does a high incidence rate mean a country has the most TB cases?
No. A high rate means a high number of cases relative to population size. The largest absolute numbers of cases are often in much larger countries, even if their rates are lower than those of small high-incidence countries.
How reliable are the exact ranks?
The broad pattern is useful, but exact ranks should be read with caution. WHO incidence values are modelled estimates with uncertainty intervals, and revisions can occur when new survey, inventory or notification data become available.
What should be compared together with incidence?
Incidence should be read alongside absolute case counts, TB mortality, case detection, treatment coverage, drug-resistant TB indicators, HIV prevalence, nutrition and health-system access. No single rate describes the whole TB situation.
Sources
The data sources below identify where the incidence estimates, definitions and methodology come from. The ranking values are based on WHO-derived World Bank data for the 2024 reference year.
WHO — Global Tuberculosis Report 2025
Primary global report for the 2025 TB reporting cycle, including 2024 global estimates and country-level methodological documentation.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240116924WHO — TB incidence chapter, Global Tuberculosis Report 2025
Used for global incidence, regional context, high-burden interpretation, under-review note for DPRK and WHO estimation methods.
https://www.who.int/teams/global-programme-on-tuberculosis-and-lung-health/tb-reports/global-tuberculosis-report-2025/tb-disease-burden/1-1-tb-incidenceWorld Bank — Incidence of tuberculosis, SH.TBS.INCD
Standardized annual indicator series based on WHO estimates; used for the country ranking values.
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.TBS.INCDWorld Bank Data360 metadata — SH.TBS.INCD
Indicator definition for estimated new and relapse TB cases per 100,000 people, including all forms of TB and HIV-associated TB.
https://data360files.worldbank.org/data360-data/metadata/WB_WDI/WB_WDI_SH_TBS_INCD.pdfWHO Global TB Programme — Data and country profiles
Country profiles and database tools for incidence, notifications, treatment and drug-resistant TB indicators.
https://www.who.int/teams/global-tuberculosis-programme/dataWHO — End TB Strategy
Reference for global TB reduction targets and interpretation of incidence milestones.
https://www.who.int/teams/global-tuberculosis-programme/the-end-tb-strategy
