Monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals - World Health Statistics 2026.

''The World health statistics report is the annual compilation of health and health-related indicators, which has been published by the World Health Organization since 2005. The 2026 edition of the World Health Statistics consolidates data for health-related indicators from the Sustainable Development Goals. It assesses progress towards the globally agreed targets, describes key challenges for the years ahead and includes reviews on global health topics such as healthy life expectancy and premature mortality, the Triple Billion targets, and inequalities in immunization.'' WHO Team on Data; Digital Health; Analytics and AI (DDA)

Forward by the Director-General of the World Health Organization.

The World Health Statistics report provides the most comprehensive annual assessment of global health trends available to WHO Member States and the broader international health community. Over the past two decades, sustained national and multilateral commitments have delivered major gains in global health: significant reductions in maternal and child mortality, HIV and tuberculosis incidence, tobacco use and alcohol consumption. These achievements demonstrate that coordinated action at scale produces measurable results. Nevertheless, this report presents a sobering picture. Progress toward the health-related Sustainable Development Goals is insufficient, uneven across regions and populations, and increasingly vulnerable to systemic shocks. A disproportionate burden falls on low- and middleincome countries and under-served communities, especially in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Progress has stalled on universal health coverage, maternal and child health and reduction in premature mortality due to noncommunicable diseases – which remain the leading causes of mortality globally. The COVID-19 pandemic inflicted a setback of historic proportions. An estimated 22.1 million excess deaths occurred between 2020 and 2023, with nearly a decade of gains in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy wiped out by 2021. Recovery since 2022 has been uneven, with persistent disparities according to region, age and sex. These challenges are exacerbated by a global health financing emergency. Many countries face long-standing structural constraints including high debt burdens and insufficient domestic public financing. Official development assistance for health was estimated to be 30-40 per cent less in 2025 than in 2023. Sudden aid reductions risk significant disruption of essential health services, reduced access to life-saving essential medicines and vaccines. In addition, erosion of data, planning, and surveillance systems undermines reliable measurement, which is essential for progress. Too few deaths are recorded with timely, accurate, and meaningful cause-of-death information, limiting the accuracy and relevance of mortality statistics for policy and planning. Strengthening civil registration and vital statistics systems, including completeness of death registration, medical certification, ICD-based coding, and timely reporting, remains an urgent priority. So too does investment in interoperable digital and health information system infrastructure that can generate reliable, actionable data. As the SDG period enters its final years, we must accelerate our efforts. Countries and partners have a shared responsibility to ensure sustained political commitment, adequate and predictable financing, and evidence-informed decision-making. This report provides crucial evidence on which, together, we must act.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Director-General World Health Organization.