John Elflein
Research expert covering health and health care
Malaria - Statistics & Facts
Malaria is an infectious disease that is spread by female mosquitoes that are infected with Plasmodium parasites. The parasites are transmitted to humans through the bite of these female mosquitoes, causing symptoms such as fever, fatigue, vomiting, and headache. Symptoms usually appear 8 to 25 days after infection and although they may seem mild at first, if not treated, can become more severe and eventually lead to death. Malaria is often associated with poverty and has disproportionately affected poorer and developing countries in Africa. In 2021, the leading 20 countries worldwide based on the number of new malaria cases were all located in Africa. Malaria not only causes the loss of human life in these countries, but is also responsible for great economic loss in the form of decreased work force, increased health care costs and lower rates of tourism.
How many malaria cases are there per year?
The total number of malaria cases worldwide fluctuates year to year, but in 2022, there were an estimated 249 million malaria cases worldwide, with around 233 million of these cases found in the region of Africa. That year, the Eastern Mediterranean had the second highest number of malaria cases with 8.3 million, followed by South-East Asia with 5.2 million. Considering the region of Asia-Pacific, the country with the highest incidence rate of malaria in 2021 was Myanmar, followed by Afghanistan and India. In Latin America, Brazil and Venezuela had the highest number of malaria cases in 2022, with both countries reporting around 151,500 cases.Deaths from malaria
In 2022, malaria caused around 608,000 deaths worldwide, with 580,000 of these deaths occurring in Africa. However, the estimated death rate of malaria in Africa has decreased over the past few years. In 2015, the death rate of malaria in Africa was 64 per 100,000 at risk, but had decreased to 56 per 100,000 at risk by the year 2022. Nevertheless, the global death rate of malaria only decreased slightly during that period due to increases in other regions. In 2022, Nigeria accounted for around 31 percent of malaria deaths worldwide, the highest share of any country. The Democratic Republic of the Congo had the second highest share of malaria deaths that year with 12 percent, followed Niger with six percent.Prevention and treatment
Malaria can be prevented through the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs), indoor residual spraying (IRS) and antimalarial medicines, and can be treated with prescription drugs depending on the type of malaria parasite and severity of symptoms. Research and development of new medicines and vaccines remains strong for malaria, with 93 pharmaceutical products in the R&D pipeline in 2022. Such progress has been made possible through massive funding from various funders of malaria research and development, the two biggest of which, the U.S. National Institute of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, together accounted for over half of all such funding in 2022.
