WHO and UNICEF Report Global Childhood Vaccination Reached 85% for Full DTP Protection in 2025

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WHO and UNICEF say childhood vaccination coverage improved modestly in 2025, but global DTP coverage remained below 2019 levels and measles protection stayed far short of the level needed to prevent outbreaks.

Global childhood vaccination coverage edged upward in 2025, but WHO and UNICEF said the recovery remains incomplete. In estimates released July 15, 2026, the agencies reported that 90% of infants—nearly 116 million children—received at least one dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, known as DTP. About 110 million infants, or 85%, completed the three-dose series.

Both DTP measures increased by one percentage point from the previous year. Even so, global coverage remained one percentage point below 2019 levels, before the disruption associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The figures cover a 2025 birth cohort across 195 WHO and UNICEF Member States.

Millions of children remain outside routine protection

The estimates show that the global increase did not reach every child. WHO and UNICEF calculated that 13.5 million children received no vaccine dose during their first year in 2025. That was nearly 750,000 fewer zero-dose children than the previous year, but the number remains large.

Zero-dose children are those who received no vaccine dose; the measure does not include all children who are partially vaccinated. A further 7.3 million infants received a first DTP dose but did not complete the schedule before the first measles dose.

WHO and UNICEF described vaccination gaps as associated with conditions including conflict, poverty, displacement and hesitancy. The release does not quantify how much each factor contributed globally. The agencies’ recommendations include maintaining services in conflict settings, addressing misinformation, sustaining funding and strengthening disease surveillance.

Measles coverage remains below the outbreak threshold

The measles figures are a central warning in the new estimates. Coverage reached 84% for the first measles vaccine dose and 77% for the second dose in 2025. WHO and UNICEF said both levels were below the 95% threshold they identify as necessary to prevent outbreaks.

Fifty-seven countries reported large or disruptive measles outbreaks during 2025. The figures do not establish that vaccination gaps alone caused every outbreak, but they indicate continued susceptibility where coverage is below the stated threshold.

WHO’s accompanying immunization fact sheet said nearly 21 million children missed the routine first measles dose in 2025. It also reported that first-dose human papillomavirus vaccine coverage among girls was 33%, adding another measure of uneven protection across the life course.

What the data does—and does not—show

The estimates are known as WUENIC, the WHO and UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage. The underlying data came from 195 countries, including 185 that supplied 2025 coverage data. WHO’s global immunization data portal identifies the figures as the 2025 revision completed on July 15, 2026.

For some calculations involving countries that did not report, WHO and UNICEF used the previous year’s estimate. The organizations also revise WUENIC annually as additional country data become available. That means the July release is the current estimate for 2025, not necessarily the final number that will appear in future revisions.

The immediate policy question is whether the modest gains can be extended while closing the remaining gaps. The agencies’ data show progress from 2024, but also a global DTP rate still below 2019 and measles coverage far below the level they say is needed to prevent outbreaks. The next known step is continued annual updating of the estimates, alongside the recommended work on access, financing, misinformation and surveillance.

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