Countries by Incidence of malaria (per 1,000 population at risk)
Benin ranks first with 354.25 new malaria cases per 1,000 population at risk, followed closely by Burkina Faso at 353.49 and Mali at 346.22. At the other end, 29 countries including China, Egypt, and Argentina record 0.00 cases. The gap between the top and bottom of this ranking spans more than 354 cases per 1,000 population.
Ranking 2024
Analysis
This metric counts new malaria cases diagnosed in a given year, expressed per 1,000 population considered to be at risk of infection. The World Bank defines the indicator as follows: incidence of malaria is the number of new cases of malaria in a year per 1,000 population at risk. The indicator code is SH.MLR.INCD.P3, drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators for data year 2024. A higher value means more cases per 1,000 at-risk residents. The dataset covers 107 countries, all with data from the last seven years and 100% classified as official-quality figures. Two extreme outliers were identified at the 3-sigma threshold, and the average year-over-year change across countries is 38.3%.
The ten highest-ranked countries are all in sub-Saharan Africa. Benin leads at 354.25, with Burkina Faso (353.49), Mali (346.22), and Central African Republic (343.84) clustered close behind. The Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 5th at 321.89, Burundi 6th at 314.90, and Niger 7th at 305.14. Nigeria, the continent's most populous country, ranks 10th at 294.25. West and Central African nations dominate the top 25, with only Solomon Islands (rank 22, 224.28) and Chad (rank 24, 206.14) providing geographic variation among the upper tier.
The middle of the ranking shows a steep drop in incidence. Ethiopia sits at rank 29 with 138.50 cases per 1,000, and Tanzania follows at rank 30 with 136.73. Rwanda, at rank 34 with 77.14, and Kenya, at rank 36 with 74.17, fall well below their regional neighbors. Further down, Colombia ranks 46th at 15.19 and Myanmar 47th at 14.78, representing the highest-ranked non-African countries outside of the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. South Korea (rank 71, 0.18) and Cambodia (rank 78, 0.03) sit near the bottom before the large block of zero-value countries begins at rank 79.
This metric measures only reported new cases among populations classified as at risk, which means countries with limited surveillance infrastructure may undercount true incidence. The 'population at risk' denominator can be defined differently across national health systems, introducing comparability issues. A value of 0.00 may reflect genuine elimination or simply an absence of reliable case-reporting systems. The 38.3% average year-over-year change indicates substantial volatility in some national figures, which may reflect changes in reporting practices rather than actual epidemiological shifts. The two extreme outliers flagged at the 3-sigma threshold may distort cross-country comparisons.
Methodology
The metric is drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code SH.MLR.INCD.P3, using data year 2024. The source definition is applied verbatim: incidence of malaria is the number of new cases of malaria in a year per 1,000 population at risk. The unit is an absolute value per 1,000 at-risk population, and a higher value indicates higher disease burden. The dataset covers 107 countries, all of which have data from within the last seven years. Data quality is 100% official-source. The value range runs from 0.00 to 354.25, a spread of 999.0%. Two extreme outliers were identified using a 3-sigma threshold. Average year-over-year volatility is 38.3%, below the 50% flag threshold. Consistency across the latest data year (2024) stands at 98.1%, with 105 of 107 countries reporting from that year.