--- title: Measles: U.S. Immunization Rate Is Lower Than in Iran and Libya description: Dozens of countries are more successful at vaccinating their kids than the U.S., including Iran, Libya and Zimbabwe, says the WHO canonical: https://time.com/3694896/more-than-100-countries-have-a-higher-measles-immunization-rate-than-the-u-s/ author: Helen Regan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-04T06:33:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:07:53.012Z article:section: Health og:title: The U.S. Measles Vaccination Rate Is Lower Than Libya's og:description: And dozens more countries besides, including Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, WHO says. og:url: https://time.com/3694896/more-than-100-countries-have-a-higher-measles-immunization-rate-than-the-u-s/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c986dbd11dc47d7/69877d882dce0148629dd5b0/measles-immunization-needle.jpg?branch=production&width=726&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 726 og:image:height: 408 og:image:alt: Shooting up earth, globe dripping out syringe (drugs medicine concept) og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The U.S. Measles Vaccination Rate Is Lower Than Libya's twitter:description: And dozens more countries besides, including Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, WHO says. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c986dbd11dc47d7/69877d882dce0148629dd5b0/measles-immunization-needle.jpg?branch=production&width=726&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # More Than 100 Countries Have a Higher Measles Immunization Rate Than the U.S. > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Feb 4, 2015 6:33 AM UTC  Shooting up earth, globe dripping out syringe (drugs medicine concept) Shooting up earth, globe dripping out syringe (drugs medicine concept) Getty Images by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Feb 4, 2015 6:33 AM UTC Measles immunization coverage for 1-year-olds in the U.S. may be at a reasonable-sounding 91%, but there are still more than 100 countries that are more [successful](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/02/03/map-113-countries-have-higher-measles-immunization-rates-than-the-u-s-for-1-year-olds/) at vaccinating their kids against the virus. They include Bangladesh, Russia, Iran and Libya, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). America’s figure of 91% puts it on a par with Angola. To be sure, that’s enormous coverage compared with the Central African Republic (25%) or Equatorial Guinea (42%), but any decline in immunization will leave the country vulnerable as the current measles outbreaks are showing. The WHO recommends every child be vaccinated against measles with at least one dose before their first birthday. Countries more successful at immunizing their 1-year-olds than the U.S. include Brazil, Uruguay, Canada, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kenya and nearly all European countries. From 2012 to 2013 immunization rates in the U.S. saw a slight [decline](http://gamapserver.who.int/gho/interactive%5Fcharts/immunization/mcv/atlas.html) of 1%, the Washington _Post_ reports. The WHO says there are several reasons why the U.S. is being left behind, including complacency and the antivaccine debate. Read more at the [Washington _Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/02/03/map-113-countries-have-higher-measles-immunization-rates-than-the-u-s-for-1-year-olds/). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3694896/more-than-100-countries-have-a-higher-measles-immunization-rate-than-the-u-s/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3694896/more-than-100-countries-have-a-higher-measles-immunization-rate-than-the-u-s/"},"headline":"More Than 100 Countries Have a Higher Measles Immunization Rate Than the U.S.","datePublished":"2015-02-04T06:33:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:07:53.012Z","description":"Babies in desperately impoverished Libya and Zimbabwe, and in many other nations, are vaccinated more effectively, the WHO says","url":"https://time.com/3694896/more-than-100-countries-have-a-higher-measles-immunization-rate-than-the-u-s/","keywords":["infectious diseases","Vaccines","measles","World Health Organization"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c986dbd11dc47d7/69877d882dce0148629dd5b0/measles-immunization-needle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c986dbd11dc47d7/69877d882dce0148629dd5b0/measles-immunization-needle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Shooting up earth, globe dripping out syringe (drugs medicine concept)","caption":"Shooting up earth, globe dripping out syringe (drugs medicine concept)","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-diseases/","name":"infectious diseases"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3694896/more-than-100-countries-have-a-higher-measles-immunization-rate-than-the-u-s/","name":"More Than 100 Countries Have a Higher Measles Immunization Rate Than the U.S."}}]}] ```