India continues to carry the world’s highest burden of tuberculosis (TB), according to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025. The numbers may seem worrying at first glance—India accounted for 25% of all TB cases globally in 2024—but the story is more layered. Even as India remains the country with the most cases, it has made strong progress in reducing deaths and bringing down the number of new infections.
The WHO report shows that India’s TB caseload is followed by Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Pakistan. Together, these high-burden countries account for nearly 87% of all TB cases worldwide. But despite its large population and high exposure, India is one of the few nations showing consistent improvement.
One of the most encouraging findings is the fall in new TB cases. India has brought down its annual new infection rate by 21%—from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 187 per lakh in 2024. This drop is almost double the global average reduction of 12%. For a country that struggles with overcrowding, poverty and uneven access to healthcare, this achievement reflects genuine progress.
The decline in TB deaths is another major highlight. India’s TB mortality rate fell from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 21 per lakh in 2024. This means thousands of lives are being saved each year because of better diagnosis, broader treatment coverage and stronger community health programmes.
The geographical spread of TB cases globally also puts India’s numbers in perspective. Most TB cases in 2024 came from the WHO regions of South-East Asia (34%), followed by the Western Pacific (27%) and Africa (25%). Smaller proportions came from Europe, the Americas and the Eastern Mediterranean. These numbers show that TB continues to be a disease linked with socio-economic challenges, healthcare gaps and uneven development.
Back home, the Indian government has credited the rise in treatment coverage as a major reason for the improvement. Treatment coverage jumped dramatically from 53% in 2015 to over 90% in 2024. This means that more people who developed TB were diagnosed early and put on the right medication. In 2024 alone, India identified 26.18 lakh TB patients out of an estimated 27 lakh cases—an unusually high detection rate for such a large country.
However, the WHO warns that challenges still remain. Globally, the fight against TB is underfunded. In 2024, only USD 5.9 billion was spent on TB prevention, diagnosis and treatment—far below the global target of USD 22 billion per year. Funding for TB research also remains low, at just USD 1.2 billion. International donor support is likely to decline after 2025, putting additional pressure on national health systems.
The report notes that while most countries, including India, are moving in the right direction after setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is not on track to meet the 2030 target for ending TB.
India’s progress shows that strong political will, better public health programmes and widespread awareness can bring real change. But the journey is far from over. To eliminate TB completely, India will need consistent funding, continued innovation and sustained community engagement. For now, the country has taken meaningful steps forward—steps that offer hope in the long global battle against tuberculosis.
