Tuberculosis Death Rates by Country

Understanding TB Mortality Worldwide

Tuberculosis remains one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, claiming over 1.3 million lives annually. The death rates per 100,000 people vary dramatically—from less than 0.2 in some wealthy nations to over 220 in the hardest-hit countries.

Note: All death rates in this analysis have been rounded to two decimal places for readability, while maintaining statistical accuracy for country comparisons.

The Countries Facing the Highest TB Death Rates

The data reveals a stark reality: tuberculosis is overwhelmingly a disease of poverty and healthcare access.

Lesotho leads globally with a devastating 229 deaths per 100,000 people—more than 1,000 times higher than many developed nations. Other severely affected countries include Central African Republic (142), Gabon (139), Guinea-Bissau (122), and Namibia (98).

Sub-Saharan Africa dominates the crisis. Countries like South Africa (88), Liberia (85), Congo (84), Eswatini (77), Marshall Islands (76), and Botswana (72) show death rates 100+ times higher than Western Europe or North America. This reflects both high HIV co-infection rates and limited healthcare infrastructure.

Asia's mixed picture: While wealthy Asian nations like Singapore (0.58), Japan (2.8), and South Korea (3.0) have low rates, others struggle significantly. Myanmar (90), Nepal (55), Indonesia (47), and Cambodia (25) face substantial TB mortality. India's absolute numbers (323,000 deaths) represent the world's largest TB burden despite a moderate rate of 22 per 100,000.

Tuberculosis Death Rates by Country

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#	Country	Rate Per 100k(2023)	Deaths	Case Death Percent
1	Lesotho	229	5,300	37%
2	Central African Republic	142	7,300	27%
3	Gabon	139	3,500	29%
4	Guinea-Bissau	122	2,600	35%
5	Namibia	98	2,900	22%
6	Myanmar	90	49,000	17%
7	South Africa	88	56,000	22%
8	Liberia	85	4,700	29%
9	Congo	84	5,200	24%
10	Eswatini	77	950	24%
11	Marshall Islands	76	30	11%
12	Botswana	72	1,800	30%
13	Somalia	64	12,000	28%
14	Equatorial Guinea	63	1,200	24%
15	Tuvalu	62	6	21%
16	Angola	61	22,000	19%
17	Nepal	55	16,000	26%
18	Zimbabwe	48	7,900	24%
19	Indonesia	47	131,000	12%
20	Kenya	42	23,000	20%
21	Madagascar	42	13,000	19%
22	DR Congo	41	43,000	13%
23	Timor-Leste	40	560	8%
24	Kiribati	37	49	7%
25	Ghana	36	12,000	31%
26	Cameroon	34	9,600	24%
27	Sao Tome and Principe	34	77	35%
28	Philippines	32	37,000	6%
29	Nigeria	31	71,000	15%
30	Papua New Guinea	31	3,200	7%
31	Chad	30	5,800	22%
32	Bhutan	28	220	17%
33	Tanzania	27	18,000	17%
34	Bangladesh	26	44,000	12%
35	Ivory Coast	26	8,000	23%
36	Micronesia	26	29	11%
37	Cambodia	25	4,300	8%
38	Djibouti	25	290	12%
39	Afghanistan	24	10,000	14%
40	Zambia	24	5,000	9%
41	Ethiopia	23	29,000	16%
42	Guinea	23	3,300	14%
43	Malawi	23	4,800	21%
44	Mozambique	23	7,700	7%
45	Gambia	22	600	16%
46	India	22	323,000	12%
47	Niue	21	0	45%
48	Sierra Leone	21	1,800	8%
49	Pakistan	20	49,000	7%
50	Uganda	20	9,900	11%
51	Thailand	19	13,000	12%
52	Burundi	18	2,500	20%
53	Guyana	18	150	29%
54	Haiti	18	2,100	12%
55	Ukraine	17	6,400	16%
56	Peru	16	5,600	10%
57	South Sudan	16	1,900	7%
58	Nauru	14	2	8%
59	Libya	13	950	23%
60	Mauritania	13	650	18%
61	Vietnam	13	13,000	7%
62	Mongolia	12	410	3%
63	Turkmenistan	12	920	26%
64	Benin	11	1,500	22%
65	Bolivia	11	1,400	11%
66	Senegal	11	2,000	10%
67	Sudan	11	5,600	23%
68	Comoros	10	87	30%
69	Laos	9.9	760	8%
70	Yemen	9.5	3,700	20%
71	Malaysia	8.9	3,100	7%
72	Niger	8.5	2,200	12%
73	Greenland	8.3	5	8%
74	Tajikistan	8.3	870	11%
75	Tokelau	8.3	0	44%
76	Palau	8	1	8%
77	Mali	7.1	1,700	16%
78	Moldova	6.7	200	9%
79	Brazil	6.1	13,000	13%
80	Solomon Islands	6	48	11%
81	Cape Verde	5.8	30	13%
82	Brunei	5.3	24	8%
83	Fiji	5.3	49	8%
84	Vanuatu	5.3	17	13%
85	Azerbaijan	5.2	530	7%
86	Kyrgyzstan	5.2	370	5%
87	Romania	5.2	1,000	10%
88	Honduras	5.1	540	17%
89	Morocco	5.1	1,900	6%
90	Panama	5.1	230	9%
91	Ecuador	4.7	840	8%
92	Uruguay	4.7	160	11%
93	Lithuania	4.6	130	16%
94	Northern Mariana Islands	4.6	2	8%
95	Russia	4.5	6,500	13%
96	Colombia	4.4	2,300	10%
97	Paraguay	4.3	290	7%
98	Algeria	4.1	1,900	9%
99	Dominican Republic	4.1	460	10%
100	Suriname	4.1	26	14%
101	Latvia	3.7	70	24%
102	Burkina Faso	3.6	830	9%
103	Sri Lanka	3.6	820	6%
104	Mexico	3.5	4,600	13%
105	Kazakhstan	3.2	640	5%
106	Venezuela	3.2	920	7%
107	Belarus	3.1	290	12%
108	Guatemala	3	550	10%
109	South Korea	3	1,500	8%
110	Dominica	2.8	2	18%
111	Japan	2.8	3,400	30%
112	Belize	2.7	11	10%
113	Cook Islands	2.7	0	8%
114	Nicaragua	2.7	190	7%
115	Portugal	2.7	280	17%
116	Guam	2.6	4	8%
117	Trinidad and Tobago	2.6	39	12%
118	Rwanda	2.5	350	5%
119	El Salvador	2.3	150	3%
120	Eritrea	2.3	81	4%
121	Mauritius	2.3	29	19%
122	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2.2	69	9%
123	Georgia	2.2	83	4%
124	Grenada	2.1	2	44%
125	China	1.9	27,000	4%
126	Saint Kitts and Nevis	1.9	1	79%
127	Argentina	1.8	830	5%
128	Turks and Caicos Islands	1.7	1	10%
129	Armenia	1.6	46	7%
130	Iraq	1.6	720	8%
131	Maldives	1.6	8	4%
132	Uzbekistan	1.6	560	3%
133	Croatia	1.5	57	42%
134	Poland	1.5	600	15%
135	Bulgaria	1.4	95	9%
136	Togo	1.3	120	4%
137	Tunisia	1.3	150	3%
138	Antigua and Barbuda	1.2	1	97%
139	Chile	1.2	230	7%
140	French Polynesia	1.2	3	8%
141	North Macedonia	1.2	22	12%
142	Iran	1.1	1,000	10%
143	Bahrain	1	16	9%
144	New Caledonia	1	3	8%
145	Costa Rica	0.98	50	10%
146	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	0.98	1	7%
147	Bahamas	0.89	4	12%
148	Estonia	0.88	12	11%
149	Barbados	0.87	2	100%
150	Lebanon	0.83	48	8%
151	France	0.79	530	10%
152	Tonga	0.72	1	8%
153	Slovenia	0.71	15	15%
154	United Arab Emirates	0.67	72	85%
155	Sint Maarten	0.66	0	8%
156	Slovakia	0.66	36	15%
157	Spain	0.66	320	11%
158	Hungary	0.65	63	11%
159	Iceland	0.64	2	20%
160	Singapore	0.58	33	1%
161	Finland	0.56	31	16%
162	Italy	0.56	330	13%
163	Saint Lucia	0.56	1	44%
164	Saudi Arabia	0.54	180	7%
165	Greece	0.53	54	10%
166	Kuwait	0.52	25	5%
167	United Kingdom	0.51	350	7%
168	Austria	0.48	44	9%
169	Cuba	0.48	53	6%
170	Andorra	0.47	0	8%
171	Egypt	0.46	530	5%
172	Seychelles	0.46	1	2%
173	Cyprus	0.44	6	8%
174	Samoa	0.43	1	8%
175	Türkiye	0.43	370	3%
176	Ireland	0.41	21	9%
177	Oman	0.4	20	4%
178	Serbia	0.4	27	3%
179	Cayman Islands	0.39	0	8%
180	Czech Republic	0.38	41	8%
181	Malta	0.38	2	3%
182	American Samoa	0.37	0	8%
183	Norway	0.37	20	13%
184	Germany	0.35	300	7%
185	Luxembourg	0.35	2	5%
186	Albania	0.34	10	2%
187	Belgium	0.34	40	5%
188	Jamaica	0.34	10	11%
189	Aruba	0.29	0	8%
190	Bermuda	0.29	0	8%
191	Qatar	0.29	9	1%
192	Curaçao	0.27	0	8%
193	New Zealand	0.27	14	4%
194	Israel	0.26	24	9%
195	Switzerland	0.25	22	5%
196	Australia	0.24	62	4%
197	Canada	0.24	93	4%
198	Sweden	0.24	25	7%
199	Montenegro	0.2	1	1%
200	Netherlands	0.2	35	4%
201	Denmark	0.19	12	5%
202	Puerto Rico	0.19	6	26%
203	United States	0.19	660	6%
204	Wallis and Futuna	0.15	0	8%
205	Syria	0.14	32	1%
206	Jordan	0.09	10	3%
207	Monaco	0.08	0	8%

The Wealth-Health Divide

The contrast is striking: most Western nations report death rates below 1.0 per 100,000. The United States (0.19), Denmark (0.19), Netherlands (0.2), Australia (0.24), Canada (0.24), and Sweden (0.24) demonstrate what's possible with strong healthcare systems and early detection.

Island nations show vulnerability. Small Pacific island states like Marshall Islands (76), Tuvalu (62), Kiribati (37), and Timor-Leste (40) face disproportionate TB mortality despite small populations, likely due to limited medical infrastructure and geographic isolation.

Eastern Europe's progress: Most Eastern European nations have made significant progress, with countries like Montenegro (0.2), Czech Republic (0.38), and Germany (0.35) achieving rates comparable to Western Europe. However, Ukraine (17) and some former Soviet states still face challenges.

Why These Disparities Exist

HIV co-infection is the primary driver in Southern Africa. TB is the leading cause of death among people with HIV, explaining why countries with high HIV prevalence also show extreme TB mortality. Lesotho's staggering rate of 229 per 100,000 directly correlates with having one of the world's highest HIV prevalence rates (approximately 23% of adults).

Healthcare access matters enormously. TB is curable with proper treatment, but requires 6-9 months of consistent medication. Countries with weak health systems, drug shortages, or poor treatment adherence see preventable deaths.

Poverty and malnutrition weaken immune systems, making TB infections more likely to progress to active disease. The correlation between low GDP per capita and high TB mortality is nearly perfect.

Drug-resistant TB is emerging as a crisis within the crisis, particularly in former Soviet states and parts of Asia where incomplete treatment has bred resistant strains.

Progress and Setbacks

The global picture shows mixed results: while some countries have made remarkable progress, others have seen conditions worsen. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted TB services worldwide from 2020-2022, reversing years of progress in many nations.

Countries with successful TB programs—like Peru (16, showing progress but still facing challenges) and Vietnam (13, declining steadily)—demonstrate what's achievable even without wealthy economies, through political commitment and community health worker programs.

The concentration of high mortality in sub-Saharan Africa remains the defining challenge. Until HIV/TB co-infection is adequately addressed and healthcare infrastructure strengthened in these regions, TB will continue to claim hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths annually.

Keywords: tuberculosis death rate, TB mortality statistics, tuberculosis deaths by country, global TB data, tuberculosis fatalities, infectious disease mortality