Regions & countries

map of the world showing number of reported P. vivax cases per country

There were between 5.9 and 7.1 million estimated cases of P. vivax malaria in 2019.


P. vivax is the most widely geographically distributed parasite. It is predominant in the region of the Americas, comprising 72.3% of estimated malaria cases. In South-East Asia it represents 51.7% of estimated cases and in the Western Pacific and the Eastern Mediterranean regions, 33.9% and 23.3% of estimated cases respectively.

map of the world showing incidence of P. vivax infections per 1000 population at risk

The prevalence of P. vivax is likely under-reported, owing to a lack of diagnostics and generally lower parasite densities than P. falciparum (see P. vivax diagnosis). 

*All of the data and information in this section are derived from WHO World Malaria Report 2020.

Where population at risk was not available total population was used.

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