On the map
50 years of measles on one map (1974–2024)
In 1974 countries reported 5.6 million measles cases to WHO. By 2016 that figure had fallen to about 132,000. Then the map started to fill in again. This is half a century of reported measles, country by country.
See this on the map ↗1974: the starting line
The annual series begins in 1974, the year WHO launched its Expanded Programme on Immunization. That year China alone reported 3.3 million cases. Spain, Morocco, Romania, India and the United Kingdom each reported more than 100,000.
Reported cases were always far below the real number. WHO estimates that before measles vaccination became widespread, the disease caused about 2.6 million deaths a year, with major epidemics every two to three years.
The long decline
As vaccination spread, reported cases fell: 3.9 million in 1980, 1.3 million in 1990, 854,000 in 2000 and 279,000 in 2008. On the map, Europe, the Americas and East Asia fade first. The darkest shades move to sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where Nigeria led the reports in 2000 with 212,000 cases.
The rebound of 2019
Measles needs very high vaccination coverage to stop spreading, and gaps let it return. In 2019 reported cases jumped to 873,730. The Democratic Republic of the Congo reported 333,017 and Madagascar 213,231. Ukraine (57,282) and the Philippines (48,525) had large outbreaks, and Brazil reported more than 20,000 cases.
The pandemic dip and the return
Reports fell sharply in 2020 and 2021 as COVID-19 disrupted both transmission and surveillance. 2021 is the lowest year in the series, with 123,164 cases. Many vaccination campaigns were also delayed. Reported cases climbed back to 669,091 in 2023 and 675,546 in 2024. The OWID series gives the Democratic Republic of the Congo exactly 311,500 cases in both years. An identical figure repeated like this is worth treating with caution.
Month by month since 2012
Switch the timeline to fine navigation to see measles by month. From January 2012, the map uses WHO’s provisional monthly data from countries that report monthly or weekly, which extends the picture past the annual series. In 2025 the largest monthly totals came from Yemen, Pakistan, Nigeria, India and Indonesia. In 2026 so far, Bangladesh, Guatemala, India, Yemen, Pakistan and Mexico lead. These figures are provisional and are revised when official annual data arrive each July.
How to read the measles map
These are reported cases, not estimates of all infections. A country with strong surveillance may look worse than a neighbour that simply detects less. A reported zero is shown in grey, and a missing report is left blank. The colour scale is fixed, so 1974 and 2024 can be compared directly. Read the data notes for the full method.
Common questions
Why are measles cases rising again?
Outbreaks follow gaps in vaccination coverage. Measles is so contagious that WHO says about 95% two-dose coverage is needed to prevent outbreaks. Coverage fell in many countries around 2020–2022.
Which country reports the most measles cases?
In the 2024 annual data, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by Iraq, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Romania.
Is this real-time measles data?
No. Annual data run to 2024. Provisional monthly WHO data run to September 2026, and the map is a fixed snapshot of both.
Where does the data come from?
Annual reported cases are from WHO via Our World in Data. Monthly figures are from WHO’s provisional measles and rubella surveillance data.