Measles Deaths Down Globally Since 2000, But Cases Surge

Global immunization efforts have led to an 88% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2024, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). However, an estimated 95,000 people, mostly children younger than 5 years of age, died globally due to measles in 2024. While this is among the lowest annual tolls recorded since 2000, every death from a disease that could be prevented with a highly effective and low-cost vaccine is unacceptable.

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

“Measles is the world’s most contagious virus, and these data show once again how it will exploit any gap in our collective defenses against it,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general. “Measles does not respect borders, but when every child in every community is vaccinated against it, costly outbreaks can be avoided, lives can be saved, and this disease can be eliminated from entire nations.”

While recent measles surges 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 causing brain swelling and potentially brain damage).

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

In 2024, 59 countries reported large or disruptive measles outbreaks—nearly triple the number reported in 2021 and the highest since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. All regions except the Americas had at least one country experiencing a large outbreak in 2024. The situation changed in 2025 with numerous countries in the Americas battling outbreaks.

The world’s elimination goal remains a distant one. By the end of 2024, 81 countries (42%) had eliminated measles, only three additional countries since before the pandemic.

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

Measles has resurged in recent years, even in high-income countries that once eliminated it, because immunization rates have dropped below the 95% threshold. Even when overall coverage is high nationally, pockets of unvaccinated communities with lower coverage rates can leave people at risk and result in outbreaks and ongoing transmission, WHO said.