The number of people with tuberculosis (TB) in the Netherlands increased in 2025. In 2025, In 2025, 869 people were diagnosed with tuberculosis. The number of patients is thus 13% higher than in 2024, when there were 772. Among those patients, 339 had extrapulmonary TB and 530 had pulmonary TB. This is evident from key figures published by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
Approximately 82 percent of patients in the Netherlands in 2025 were born abroad. Most of these came from Eritrea (181), followed by Ethiopia (59) and Somalia (54).
Number of TB patients in the Netherlands increased
The number of people with tuberculosis in the Netherlands increased last year to the highest number in nine years. The increase in the number of people suffering from tuberculosis is largely due to the influx of people from countries where tuberculosis is prevalent.
What is TB?
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by bacteria. A notification obligation applies to the disease. This means that doctors are required to report the disease to the Municipal Public Health Service (GGD). The GGD then reports it to RIVM. TB can be contagious, for instance when it is pulmonary – that is, present in a patient’s lungs. TB can usually be treated effectively with antibiotics.
Early detection of TB
Not everyone infected with the tuberculosis bacterium is also ill. If someone has the bacterium without being sick, this is called a tuberculosis infection. The number of new tuberculosis infections in 2025 was 1,652. That is 9% more than in 2024.