Global childhood vaccination rates saw a slight improvement in 2025, according to new data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. About 90% of infants worldwide received at least one dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine, and 85% completed the full three-dose series. That is one percentage point higher than the previous year, but still one point below pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Nearly 116 million infants got at least one DTP dose, while 110 million completed all three.
Despite the progress, 13.5 million children received no vaccines at all in their first year—so-called “zero-dose” children. That number is about 750,000 lower than the previous year, but the report warns that many children start vaccination but do not finish. Measles vaccination coverage remains low: only 84% received the first dose and 77% the second, far below the 95% needed to prevent outbreaks. In 2025, 57 countries reported large or disruptive measles outbreaks.
Conflict, displacement, and poverty continue to leave millions of children unprotected, said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. She urged rebuilding trust in vaccines and reaching every child. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called immunization one of the most cost-effective ways to protect children’s health.
The report also notes that funding cuts and weak data systems threaten future progress. Only 18 countries submitted immunization surveys in 2025, down from 50 in 2024. The agencies called for stronger investment in vaccination programs, especially in fragile and conflict-affected countries.