WHO says TB deaths fell 35% by 2025, five years late

The World Health Organization estimates that 1.13 million people died from tuberculosis worldwide in 2025, a 35% decline from 2015 that met the first mortality target of its End TB Strategy five years after its 2020 deadline. The disease remained the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, according to the agency’s Global Tuberculosis Report 2026, released November 12.

An estimated 10.6 million people developed TB in 2025. Of those, 8.4 million were diagnosed, leaving 2.2 million people undiagnosed or unreported. The report said only 59% of newly diagnosed patients received a WHO-recommended rapid diagnostic test.

The reduction in deaths outpaced progress against new infections. TB incidence fell 14% globally between 2015 and 2025, short of the End TB Strategy’s target of a 50% reduction by 2025. The report estimated that 370,000 people developed rifampicin-resistant TB in 2025; 42% received treatment.

India’s health ministry said the report showed a 38% decline in the country’s estimated TB mortality rate, from 28 deaths per 100,000 people in 2015 to 18 in 2025. The ministry also cited a 94% treatment success rate among patients with drug-susceptible TB.