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Countries with the Most Malaria Deaths

Name the countries that had the most estimated deaths due to malaria in 2020.
Source: WHO World Malaria Report. Midpoint estimates.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: August 21, 2022
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First submittedApril 28, 2017
Times taken29,206
Average score65.0%
Rating4.36
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Overall
199,689
Nigeria
82,511
D.R. Congo
25,972
Tanzania
23,766
Mozambique
19,979
Burkina Faso
17,435
Niger
15,989
Angola
15,913
Ivory Coast
14,841
Cameroon
12,415
Chad
Outside Africa
7,341
India
2,962
Papua New Guinea
1,979
Yemen
1,443
Indonesia
454
Pakistan
203
Venezuela
110
Afghanistan
97
Philippines
97
Haiti
77
Myanmar
+8
Level 76
Apr 28, 2017
Mali surprised me - I assumed it would be too dry for there to be many mosquitoes.

Depressing quiz though.

+5
Level 67
Sep 7, 2017
The northern half of Mali is rather dry but the southern part of the country is jungle
+6
Level 60
Nov 21, 2019
Mosquitoes are present in every country outside Iceland
+4
Level 75
Oct 19, 2021
Yes, but can they all spread malaria? I think only certain species can do that. I was surprised to see Afghanistan on the list.
+3
Level 76
Aug 23, 2022
The mosquito types that spread malaria are, as the updated internet info claims, found "everywhere except for Antarctica". However, those are more common in the warmer areas.

The little *!?#! can also survive proper winters under the right conditions (just go see the mosquito situation in Alaska, way North Canada, Nordic countries esp. Lapland and North Russia during roughly July or so).

Malaria was fairly common in the cooler areas in history. Especially where people and animals lived under the same roof. In particular, if there's a simple dirt/mud floor.

+5
Level 87
Apr 28, 2017
I was surprised by Yemen (thought it would be too dry) and Venezuela (never thought it was a big problem in S. America).
+6
Level 78
Sep 11, 2017
There is a significant chunk of highland Yemen that has a seasonal tropical/monsoon climate thanks to a very light rainshadow effect. I'd assume that despite the near-desert conditions, every year seasonal rainfall and tropical temperatures are just enough to breed mosquitoes and malaria.
+4
Level 71
Apr 30, 2017
Surprised that Central African Republic missed out, that's where I got Malaria and I wasn't the only one.
+24
Level 71
May 1, 2017
:o Is that where your username comes from?
+6
Level 90
May 5, 2017
But, to be fair, you wouldn't have been part of the statistics. It's malaria deaths, not malaria cases. I think these countries are the triangle in the middle of a venn diagram where the three circles are overpopulation, warm climate, and third world economy.
+2
Level 71
Sep 7, 2017
You are probably correct 'tschutzer', although I think malaria causes so much hardship among the population even though many more suffer from it then die.
+1
Level 60
Aug 28, 2021
Malbaby is a zombie
+3
Level 69
May 5, 2017
What a tasteful quiz
+28
Level ∞
May 5, 2017
Thank you. I hoped you learned about this terrible disease which affects millions of people every year.
+12
Level 70
Nov 14, 2019
Yeah imagine accidentally making people aware of stuff that might potentially be useful information. Quizzes are supposed to be about guessing and feeling proud of yourself if you get 100%.
+3
Level 70
Nov 14, 2019
Though actually this might explain why you deleted that quiz about Islamist terrorism.
+1
Level 61
Sep 7, 2017
I wonder if sickelcell deaths are included, which is a directly related to Malaria immunity,
+1
Level 79
Nov 8, 2019
It isn't. And it's 'sickle cell', by the way.
+1
Level 52
Sep 7, 2017
Maybe don't say Countries outside of Africa, because India falls in that category although it is in the majority category.
+12
Level 75
Jan 23, 2018
But India is outside of Africa and it's also one of the majority countries
+4
Level 63
Nov 15, 2019
If the quiz had no column for "outside Africa" the quiz would just consist of mostly listing African countries.
+2
Level 71
May 4, 2018
Yemen? Isn't it mostly desert?
+3
Level 82
Feb 17, 2019
Mostly. But the population is crammed mostly in to the southwest corner of the country which is pretty swampy in the areas by the coast.
+1
Level 74
Nov 14, 2019
That graphic. Squee.
+2
Level 87
Nov 14, 2019
india is twice...
+1
Level 70
Nov 14, 2019
Yes because it is both in the top 11 outside of Africa and the top 11 overall.
+1
Level 87
Nov 15, 2019
oh damn...right thanks
+4
Level 78
Nov 21, 2019
I appreciate the good attempt to increase awareness of this still horrible (and often overlooked) scourge, but I am afraid that the quiz is inadvertently blessing junk data. Gaining accurate data of Africa is often a challenge (I've been doing it for years), but UN agencies, including WHO, are especially weak, if only because they don't challenge the BS they are handed by member states. A glimpse of the map makes this clear. 18,000 deaths in Sierra Leone, but none in Liberia? 46,000 in DRC, but none in Republic of Congo? None in Sudan? Etc. If I have time, I will try to research better data sources for a more accurate quiz.
+2
Level 60
Nov 21, 2019
Is it weird that I'm living in India all my life and I have known none who have died from Malaria or even suffering from it?
+8
Level ∞
Nov 21, 2019
Not really. My guess is that malaria is isolated in the poorest communities. Also 17,000 a year isn't that much in a country the size of India.
+5
Level 66
Nov 21, 2019
Roughly 0.0013% of the Indian population dies of malaria every year. Assuming a uniform distribution (which, as QM suggests above, is unrealisitic), you would need to know about 78,765 people, and keep track of theirs deaths each year, to be expected to know one who died from malaria. A quick survey of the internet suggests that the average person (at least in the US) has about 600 acquaintances. It would be much weirder if you did know someone who died of malaria.
+2
Level 51
Nov 21, 2019
cries this is sad cries
+1
Level 29
Nov 22, 2019
Just so you know, I think you mixed up Myanmar, Cambodia, and Afghanistan, or the numbers are just wrong.
+1
Level 79
Apr 3, 2020
Yes, the right column is not in the correct numerical order.
+2
Level 62
Apr 13, 2020
Not sure why I guessed China. It’s not like they would accurately report their numbers.
+1
Level 89
Nov 6, 2022
I guessed it because of population reasons.
+2
Level 66
Apr 23, 2020
Sierra Leone's numbers are quite worrying given it's not a particularly populous country
+3
Level 56
May 10, 2022
Obviously impossible to know definitively, but it is likely malaria is second only to tuberculosis as the infectious disease that has killed the most people throughout history. Outbreaks like the plague and flu killed huge numbers but the persistence of malaria and TB over centuries has been devastating.
+2
Level 84
Aug 23, 2022
We focus a lot on the great plagues. But you are correct. It's the endemic diseases that take the most lives, year after year.
+1
Level 83
Nov 16, 2023
Also some diseases that we might consider plagues or epidemics can be very much endemic to other regions. According to Wikipedia, plague is still endemic in 26 countries.
+2
Level 82
Aug 31, 2022
it's wild to think that the top answer in Africa is more than all of the non-African countries' deaths combined. what a horrible loss of life :-(
+1
Level 65
Feb 13, 2023
Now all of the non-African countries' deaths combined are barely equal to all the deaths in Cameroon alone
+2
Level 71
Oct 10, 2023
If it's any consolation, malaria treatments are rapidly advancing. There's a new malaria vaccine shown to be 77% effective, and it's been recently approved in Nigeria. Still a lot to be done, but I'd optimistically expect these numbers to start decreasing soon.