Number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases in South Africa

South Africa: Number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases was 14.44 million Number of people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
14.44 million Number of people
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
16th
of 194 countries
All-time high
19.33 million Number of people
in 2017
All-time low
6.14 million Number of people
in 2010
Years of data
15
2010–2024

Number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases in South Africa, 2010–2024

5.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M2010201720242010: 6.1M Number of people2011: 6.2M Number of people2012: 6.2M Number of people2013: 6.6M Number of people2014: 6.6M Number of people2015: 6.7M Number of people2016: 6.8M Number of people2017: 19.3M Number of people2018: 18.8M Number of people2019: 18.8M Number of people2020: 16.5M Number of people2021: 16.5M Number of people2022: 14.5M Number of people2023: 14.1M Number of people2024: 14.4M Number of people

Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in Number of people.

Analysis

In 2024, number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases in South Africa stood at 14.44 million Number of people.

The figure is up 2.6% on the previous year and up 117.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases in South Africa peaked at 19.33 million Number of people in 2017 and was at its lowest, 6.14 million Number of people, in 2010.

That places South Africa 16th out of 194 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 10.21 million Number of people 6.14 million Number of people 19.33 million Number of people 10
2020s 15.20 million Number of people 14.07 million Number of people 16.50 million Number of people 5

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 13 Myanmar 19.50 million Number of people compare
  2. 14 Madagascar 18.17 million Number of people compare
  3. 15 Afghanistan 16.98 million Number of people compare
  4. 17 Cameroon 12.40 million Number of people compare
  5. 18 Nepal 12.26 million Number of people compare
  6. 19 Sudan 12.14 million Number of people compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases in South Africa?
Number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases in South Africa was 14.44 million Number of people in 2024, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 19.33 million Number of people in 2017.
What is the lowest number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 6.14 million Number of people in 2010.
How does South Africa rank for number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases?
South Africa ranks 16th out of 194 countries with data for 2024.
Is number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 117.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases
Unit
Number of people
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 2,910 data points, 2010–2024
Last refreshed

Estimated number of people requiring medical treatment for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).