Health
Verified dataIn 1980 one child in six got the measles vaccine. Now it is five in six.
Global measles coverage among one-year-olds rose from 16% in 1980 to 84% in 2024 — one of the largest public health gains ever recorded. But the climb stopped around 2010, and coverage has still not regained its 86% peak of 2018.
CSV · 45 rows · 1980–2024
Worldwide measles vaccination among one-year-olds went from 16% in 1980 to 86% by 2018 — roughly from one child in six to six in seven. Almost all of that gain came before 2010; the following decade added just two percentage points. The pandemic then pushed coverage down to 81% in 2021, its 2008 level, and by 2024 it had recovered only to 84%, still short of the peak. Vaccines introduced more recently — rubella, pneumococcal, rotavirus — are still spreading and reached their highest coverage yet in 2024.
Key findings
- Global measles coverage among one-year-olds rose from 16% in 1980 to 84% in 2024 — from about one child in six to five in six.
- Nearly all of the gain came before 2010: coverage reached 84% that year, and eight more years added only two percentage points.
- Coverage peaked at 86% in 2018 and 2019, the highest ever recorded.
- The pandemic pushed it down to 81% in 2021 — exactly the level of 2008, wiping out thirteen years of progress.
- By 2024 it had recovered to 84%, still two points below the peak.
- DTP and polio follow almost the same path, both peaking at 86% and standing at 85% and 84% in 2024.
- Newer vaccines are still spreading: rubella reached 73%, pneumococcal 67% and rotavirus 59%, each an all-time high in 2024.
Explore the data
Coverage: Jan 1, 1980 – Dec 31, 2024 · World
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Sources
Primary source
WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage
World Health Organization and UNICEF, via Our World in Data
Global vaccination coverage by antigen, 1980–2024
Accessed Aug 30, 2026
WUENIC estimates of the share of surviving infants vaccinated by their first birthday, for measles (MCV1), DTP3, polio (Pol3), rubella (RCV1), pneumococcal (PCV3) and rotavirus.
Methodology
Coverage is the share of surviving infants who received the vaccine by their first birthday, as estimated annually by WHO and UNICEF from country reports, administrative records and household surveys (the WUENIC estimates). Six vaccines are shown: three long-established ones that expanded during the 1980s and 1990s — measles, DTP and polio — and three introduced more recently — rubella, pneumococcal and rotavirus. Measles is drawn as the lead line because its series runs the full period. Values are global averages weighted by birth cohort, plotted on a full 0–100% axis.
What this does not show
A global average conceals very large differences: some countries are above 95% while others are far below the world figure, and coverage also varies sharply within countries. The newer vaccines start later in the series because they were introduced later and are still not part of every national schedule, so their lower coverage reflects availability as much as uptake. These are modelled estimates rather than a count of vaccinated children, and WHO and UNICEF revise earlier years as better data arrive. Coverage measures doses delivered, not immunity in the population — for measles, interrupting transmission generally requires far higher coverage than the world currently achieves.
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License: CC BY 4.0
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<figure style="margin:0;max-width:1600px">
<a href="https://chartive.org/visualizations/world-vaccination-1980-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
<img src="https://chartive.org/infographics/world-vaccination-1980-2024.png" alt="Line chart of global childhood vaccination coverage from 1980 to 2024 on a 0 to 100 percent axis. Three gold lines for measles, DTP and polio rise steeply from about 16 to 21 percent in 1980 to roughly 85 percent by 2010, then flatten, dip to about 81 percent in 2021 and recover to 84 to 85 percent by 2024. Three blue lines for rubella, pneumococcal and rotavirus start later and are still climbing, reaching 73, 67 and 59 percent. Annotations mark one child in six in 1980, five in six in 2024, and the pandemic dip back to the 2008 level." width="1600" height="2133" style="max-width:100%;height:auto" />
</a>
<figcaption style="font:14px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#57534e;margin-top:8px">
Graphic by Chartive Editorial, using data from WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage — via <a href="https://chartive.org/visualizations/world-vaccination-1980-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chartive</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>Reuse is welcome — the embed keeps a link back to the source.
