Hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination by country

WHO recommends that all babies receive hepatitis B vaccine as soon as possible after birth (within 24 hours), followed by two or three further doses, because infection in infancy and early childhood becomes chronic in about 95% of cases, and chronic hepatitis B leads to cirrhosis and liver cancer (WHO fact sheet, 28 July 2026). WHO's immunization data (resource MT_AD_INTRO_LONG, antigen HepB_BD) record, for 2025, the birth dose as introduced in 117 of 194 countries, introduced for risk groups only ("Yes (R)") in 30, partially introduced in 2, and not introduced in 45. Hepatitis B vaccine itself (antigen HEPB) is recorded for 2025 as introduced in 190 countries, for risk groups only in 3 and for adolescents in 1. Among countries OnCo describes: Bangladesh and Rwanda record no birth dose; France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and South Africa give it to risk groups only; China, Nigeria, Indonesia, Australia and Israel give it to all newborns.