This is the 13th annual report on global control of tuberculosis (TB) published by WHO. 196 countries and territories that reported data in 2008 account for 99.6% of the world's estimated TB cases and 99.7% of the world's population.

This report is the 13th annual report on global control of tuberculosis (TB) published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in a series that started in 1997. Its main purpose is to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic and to report on progress in controlling the disease at global, regional and country levels, in the context of global targets set for 2015. The principal targets are that the incidence of TB should be falling by 2015 (MDG Target 6.c), that TB prevalence and death rates should be halved by 2015 compared with their level in 1990, that at least 70% of incident smear-positive cases should be detected and treated in DOTS programmes, and that at least 85% of new sputum smear-positive cases should be successfully treated.1,2,3,4 Results are based primarily on data reported to WHO via its standard TB data collection form in 2008 and on the data that were collected each year 1996-2007. The 196 countries and territories that reported data in 2008 account for 99.6% of the world's estimated TB cases and 99.7% of the world's population.