Regional statistics
Antibiotic misuse is the most important factor fueling AMR. The WHO report on antibiotic use shows that overall antibiotic use in the Eastern Mediterranean and South-East Asia regions was the highest of all WHO regions.
Antibiotic use was 23.0 defined daily doses per 1000 inhabitants per day (DID) in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The highest relative enrolment of countries in WHO GLASS antimicrobial use surveillance in 2023 was in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, with 95.5% of CTAs enrolled (21/22)
However only 9 countries out of these 21 enrolled submitted data for 2023.
In 2023, the global target was to have at least 60% of national antibiotic consumption coming from the “Access” group antibiotics—which are the first line antibiotics with low potential for resistance and indicated for common infections.
Globally, 58% (35/60) of CTAs reported meeting the WHO 2023 target
Only 4 countries out of the 9 countries which submitted data for 2023 from the Eastern Mediterranean region achieved the target.
Moreover, only 1 country—Tunisia—has achieved the 2030 target (70% Access) set by the UN General Assembly in 2024.
In 2023, nearly 1 in 3 infections in the Region were resistant to antibiotics, among the highest figures globally
MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in bloodstream infections was 50.3%, the highest of all WHO regions
Gonorrhoea resistance to last-resort antibiotic ceftriaxone is 2.5%, the highest among all WHO regions
Acinetobacter spp resistance to imipenem – at 66.5% – is the highest globally and rising fastest with an 11.3% annual increase
Salmonella resistance to ceftriaxone – at 56.9% – is the highest of all WHO regions
Shigella resistance to azithromycin – 1.2% – is the lowest among WHO regions
Klebsiella pneumoniae resistance to cefotaxime in the Region declined by 5.2% annually between 2016 and 2023
While the Eastern Mediterranean Region had the highest completeness of AMR data globally, the score is still modest at 61.2%
In 2023, 88% of countries in the Region reported providing data on over half of the bacteria antibiotic combinations tracked
Source
WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS)
Global antibiotic resistance surveillance report 2025
