Measles deaths have fallen by 88% since 2000, but the number of cases is rising

Global immunization efforts have led to an 88 percent drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2024. new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). Nearly 59 million lives have been saved by the measles vaccine since 2000.

However, an estimated 95,000 people died from measles in 2024, most of them children under the age of 5. Although this is among the lowest annual numbers recorded since 2000, any death from a disease that could be prevented by a highly effective and inexpensive vaccine is unacceptable.

Despite fewer deaths, measles cases are rising worldwide, with an estimated 11 million infections in 2024 – nearly 800,000 more than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

“Measles is the most contagious virus in the world, and this data shows once again how it will exploit any gap in our collective defenses against it,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Measles knows no borders, but when every child in every community is vaccinated against it, costly epidemics can be avoided, lives can be saved, and this disease can be eliminated from entire nations.”

Measles cases in 2024 increased by 86% in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, 47% in the European Region and 42% in the South-East Asia Region compared to 2019. Notably, the African region saw a 40% drop in the number of cases and a 50% drop in the number of deaths during this period, partly due to an increase in immunization coverage.

While recent increases in measles are occurring in countries and regions where children are less likely to die due to better nutrition and access to health care, those infected remain at risk of serious lifelong complications such as blindness, pneumonia and encephalitis (an infection that causes brain swelling and potential brain damage).

Immunization coverage insufficient to protect all communities

In 2024, an estimated 84% of children received the first dose of measles vaccine, and only 76% received the second, according to WHO/UNICEF estimates. This is a slight improvement compared to the previous year, with 2 million more children vaccinated. According to WHO guidelines, at least 95% coverage with two doses of measles vaccine is needed to stop transmission and protect communities from outbreaks.

More than 30 million children remain insufficiently protected against measles in 2024. Three-quarters of them live in the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions, often in fragile, conflict-affected or vulnerable environments.

The mid-term review of the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030), also published today, highlights that measles is often the first disease to re-emerge when vaccination coverage falls. Growing measles outbreaks expose weaknesses in immunization programs and health systems globally and threaten progress towards IA2030 targets, including measles elimination.

An increasing number of epidemics

In 2024, 59 countries reported major or devastating measles outbreaks – almost triple the number reported in 2021 and the most since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. All regions except the Americas had at least one country experiencing a major outbreak in 2024. The situation changed in 2025 with numerous countries in the Americas struggling with outbreaks.

Efforts to strengthen measles surveillance have improved the ability of WHO and countries to identify and respond to outbreaks, and for some countries to achieve elimination. In 2024, more than 760 laboratories participating in the Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network (GMRLN) tested more than 500,000 samples, an increase of 27% compared to the previous year.

However, major funding cuts affecting the GMRLN and immunization programs in the country are feared to widen immunity gaps and fuel further outbreaks in the coming year. Securing sustainable domestic funding and new partners is now a key challenge for advancing efforts towards a measles-free world.

Striving for a world without measles

The global goal of elimination, as stated in IA2030, remains a long way off. By the end of 2024, 81 countries (42%) have eliminated measles, just three additional countries since before the pandemic.

Additional progress was achieved in 2025 Pacific Island Countries and Territories confirmed in September 2025 i Cabo Verde, Mauritius and Seychelles confirmed this month, becoming the first countries in the World Health Organization's African region to be confirmed to have eliminated measles. This brings the total number of countries that have eliminated measles to 96.

The Americas region regained measles elimination status in 2024 for the second time – the only region ever to be verified – but lost status again in November 2025 due to ongoing transmission in Canada.

Measles has re-emerged in recent years, even in high-income countries that once eliminated it, as immunization rates have fallen below the 95% threshold. Even when overall coverage is high nationally, pockets of unvaccinated communities with lower coverage rates can put people at risk and result in outbreaks and continued transmission.

Achieving measles elimination requires strong political commitment and sustained investment to ensure that all children receive two doses of the measles vaccine and that surveillance systems can rapidly detect outbreaks. The IA2030 mid-term review calls on countries and partners to strengthen capacities for routine immunization, surveillance and rapid response to disease outbreaks, and to implement high-quality, high-coverage campaigns when routine immunization is not yet sufficient to protect every child.

Note to editors

WHO uses statistical modeling to estimate measles cases and deaths each year, based on cases reported by countries, and revises estimates from the previous year to assess disease trends over time.

WHO is one of the founders Measles and Rubella Partnership (M&RP), a global initiative to end measles and rubella. Under the umbrella Immunization Agenda 2030 and leading Measles and Rubella 2030 Strategic FrameworkM&RP's mission includes addressing the decline in national vaccination coverage, accelerating the recovery from measles setbacks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and accelerating progress toward a measles- and rubella-free world. The partnership also includes American Red Cross, Gates Foundation, Gavi, Alliance for Vaccines, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United Nations Foundationand UNICEF.

Measles elimination is defined as the absence of transmission of endemic measles virus in a region or other defined geographic area for more than 12 months. Conversely, a country is no longer considered measles-free if the virus returns and transmission persists for more than a year.

The Immunization Agenda 2030 global monitoring plan defines large or devastating outbreaks as ≥20 cases per million population in a 12-month period.