In the study that WHO conducted in 2001, malaria was ranked as the 8^th highest contributor to global disease problems and was ranked as the 2^nd highest contributor in Africa.

		Deaths, 2000					DALYs from deaths, 2000
		All causes		Malaria			All causes		Malaria
Region	Population	Thousands	Percent	Thousands	Percent	Malaria deaths as a percent-age of all deaths	Thousands	Percent	Thousands	Percent	Malaria DALYs as a percentage of all DALYs
World	6,122,211	56,554	100.0	1,124	100.0	2.00	1,467,257	100.0	42,279	100.0	2.90
Africa	655,476	10,681	18.9	963	85.7	9.00	357,884	24.4	36,012	85.2	10.10
Americas	837,967	5,911	10.5	1	<0.1	0.02	145,217	9.9	108	0.2	0.07
Eastern	493,091	4,156	7.3	55	4.9	1.30	136,221	9.3	2,050	4.8	1.50
Mediterranean
Europe	874,178	9,703	17.2	<1	<0.1	<0.010	151,223	10.3	20	0.04	0.01
Southeast Asia	1,559,810	14,467	25.6	95	8.5	0.70	418,844	28.5	3,680	8.7	0.90
Western Pacific	1,701,689	11,636	20.6	10	0.9	<0.09	257,868	17.6	409	1.0	0.20

Source: Deaths and DALYs from Deaths Attributable to All Causes and to Malaria by WHO Region, 2000 


        Click on the website to view an interactive map which provides updates about Malaria endemicity globally: Malaria Interactive Map
     

        In the United States, malaria had been eliminated as one of the major public health concerns in the late 1940s by eradicating reservoirs that harbor infected mosquitoes and also by promoting prevention of transmission. Nevertheless, US communities are still at risk for re-emergence of malaria, mainly influenced by American travelers who may get infected abroad. US travelers going to high risk countries should have taken anti-malarial drugs to prevent infection. 

Country	Areas with Malaria	Estimated relative risk of Malaria for US Travelers2	Drug Resistance3	Malaria Species4	Recommended Chemoprophlaxis5	Key Information Needed and Helpful Links to Assess Need for Prophylaxis for Select Countries
Afghanistan	April–December in all areas at altitudes below 2,500 m (8,202 ft).	High6	Chloroquine	P. vivax 80-90% P. falciparum 10-20%	Atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, or mefloquine	1) Month(s) of travel 2) City(ies) of travel 3) Altitude of city(ies) of travel Altitude information for Afghanistan
Albania	None	None	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Algeria	Rare indigenous cases	No information	Chloroquine	P. falciparum, P. vivax	Mosquito avoidance only.
American Samoa (U.S.)	None	None	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Andorra	None	None	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Angola	All	Moderate	Chloroquine	P. falciparum 90% P. ovale 5% P. vivax 5%	Atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, or mefloquine
Anguilla (U.K.)	None	None	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Antarctica	None	None	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Antigua and Barbuda	None	None	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Argentina	None	None	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Armenia	None	None	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Aruba	None	None	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Australia	None	None	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Austria	None	None	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Azerbaijan	May–October in rural areas below 1,500 m (4,921 ft). None in Baku.	Very Low	None	P. vivax 100%	Mosquito avoidance only	1) Month(s) of travel 2) City(ies) of travel 3) Altitude of city(ies) of travel Altitude information for Azerbaijan
Azores (Portugal)	None	None	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable

 Source: US Travelers' Estimated Risk (2014)

Note that the data on the table is based on malaria cases that occured among US military personnel who travel to itineraries that do no reflect that of those of average travelers.
        Aside from US travelers, high-risk groups include young children who have underdeveloped immunity against infections and pregnant women whose immunity is decreased during pregnancy. There are areas (e.g. Latin America and Asia) that have lower risks for transmission of malaria. Hence, there are people who have reached adulthood without developing partial immunity to Malaria. These people are at great risk for being infected when exposed and may also experience fatal symptoms and illness.