Among all countries worldwide those in sub-Saharan Africa have the highest rates of HIV. The countries with the highest rates of HIV include Eswatini, Lesotho, and South Africa. In 2023, Eswatini had the highest prevalence of HIV with a rate of around 25 percent. Other countries, such as Zimbabwe, have significantly decreased their HIV prevalence. Community-based HIV services are considered crucial to the prevention and treatment of HIV. HIV Worldwide The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a viral infection that is transmitted via exposure to infected semen, blood, vaginal and anal fluids and breast milk. HIV destroys the human immune system, rendering the host unable to fight off secondary infections. Globally, the number of people living with HIV has generally increased over the past two decades. However, the number of HIV-related deaths has decreased significantly in recent years. Despite being a serious illness that affects millions of people, medication exists that effectively manages the progression of the virus in the body. These medications are called antiretroviral drugs. HIV Treatment Generally, global access to antiretroviral treatment has increased in recent years. However, despite being available worldwide, not all adults have access to antiretroviral drugs. Europe and North America have the highest rates of antiretroviral use among people living with HIV. There are many different antiretroviral drugs available on the market. As of 2023, Biktarvy, an antiretroviral marketed by Gilead, was the leading HIV treatment based on revenue.

In 2023, in South Africa, there were around 2.7 HIV newly infected persons per every 1,000 inhabitants. This statistic depicts the countries with the highest incidence rates of new HIV infections worldwide as of 2023.

As of 2023, South Africa was the country with the highest number of people living with HIV in Africa. At that time, around 7.7 million people in South Africa were HIV positive. In Mozambique, the country with the second-highest number of HIV-positive people in Africa, around 2.4 million people were living with HIV. Which country in Africa has the highest prevalence of HIV? Although South Africa has the highest total number of people living with HIV in Africa, it does not have the highest prevalence of HIV on the continent. Eswatini currently has the highest prevalence of HIV in Africa and worldwide, with almost 26 percent of the population living with HIV. South Africa has the third-highest prevalence, with around 18 percent of the population HIV positive. Eswatini also has the highest rate of new HIV infections per 1,000 population worldwide, followed by Lesotho and South Africa. However, South Africa had the highest total number of new HIV infections in 2023, with around 150,000 people newly infected with HIV that year. Deaths from HIV in Africa Thanks to advances in treatment and awareness, HIV/AIDS no longer contributes to a significant amount of death in many countries. However, the disease is still the fourth leading cause of death in Africa, accounting for around 5.6 percent of all deaths. In 2023, South Africa and Nigeria were the countries with the highest number of AIDS-related deaths worldwide with 50,000 and 45,000 such deaths, respectively. Although not every country in the leading 25 for AIDS-related deaths is found in Africa, African countries account for the majority of countries on the list. Fortunately, HIV treatment has become more accessible in Africa over the years and now up to 95 percent of people living with HIV in Eswatini are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Access to ART does vary from country to country, however, with around 77 percent of people who are HIV positive in South Africa receiving ART, and only 31 percent in the Congo.

In 2022, it was estimated that around 16.4 percent of Botswana's population aged 15-49 years was infected with HIV. This statistic shows the 20 countries with the highest prevalence of HIV worldwide as of 2022.

In 2020, the prevalence of HIV among individuals aged 15 to 49 years was nearly two percent in Haiti, the highest among selected Latin American countries. Meanwhile, Nicaragua and Bolivia reported a prevalence rate of the virus of 0.2 percent that year. In 2019, Brazil was home to the most people living with HIV in the region.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine changes over time in the female: male HIV prevalence ratio in 18 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, overall and when stratified by area of residence, educational attainment and marital status.MethodologyWe used data from the Demographic and Health Surveys, which are nationally representative household surveys. By using data from 18 countries with at least two survey rounds with HIV testing, and dividing the countries into three regions (Western/Central, Eastern and Southern) we were able to examine cross-country and regional changes in the female: male HIV prevalence ratio over time. Logistic regression was used to estimate female: male HIV prevalence ratios in urban versus rural areas and for different categories of education and marital status. To assess changes over time, we compared the confidence intervals of the prevalence ratios.ResultsThe female: male HIV prevalence ratio was above one in all countries in at least one survey round for both ages 15–24 years and 25–49 years. In 13 out of 18 countries the prevalence ratio was higher for the younger age group compared to the age group 25–49 years (3 significant) and this difference in prevalence ratios between the age groups did not change over time. Overall, there was a higher frequency of increasing than decreasing prevalence ratios. The gender disparity was greater among those who were married/living together than among the never-married, and over time, the ratio was more stable among the married/living together. The study found no clear differential changes by education.ConclusionWomen continue to carry the greater burden of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa and there is no clear pattern of change in the gap between men and women as the direction and magnitude of change in the prevalence ratios varied greatly.

This map displays the percentage of people ages 15+ with HIV that are female from the 2013 to 2014 dataset. According to the World Bank: "HIV prevalence rates reflect the rate of HIV infection in each country's population. Low national prevalence rates can be misleading, however. They often disguise epidemics that are initially concentrated in certain localities or population groups and threaten to spill over into the wider population. In many developing countries most new infections occur in young adults, with young women especially vulnerable. Data on HIV are from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Changes in procedures and assumptions for estimating the data and better coordination with countries have resulted in improved estimates of HIV and AIDS. The models, which are routinely updated, track the course of HIV epidemics and their impact, making full use of information in HIV prevalence trends from surveillance data as well as survey data. The models take into account reduced infectivity among people receiving antiretroviral therapy (which is having a larger impact on HIV prevalence and allowing HIV-positive people to live longer) and allow for changes in urbanization over time in generalized epidemics. The estimates include plausibility bounds, which reflect the certainty associated with each of the estimates."Source: The World Bank

In 2023, some 1.1 percent of Thailand's population aged between 15 and 49 years was infected with HIV. This statistic describes the HIV prevalence among the adult population of select countries worldwide as of 2023.

Global Prevalence of HIV by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

This bar chart displays incidence of HIV (per 1,000 uninfected population) by country and is filtered where the continent is Africa. The data is about countries.

This dataset is about countries in Africa, featuring 3 columns: country, demonym, and incidence of HIV. The preview is ordered by population (descending).

Age-adjusted female: male HIV prevalence ratio (25–49 years) by country and urban/rural residence.

This dataset is about countries in Europe, featuring 2 columns: country, and incidence of HIV. The preview is ordered by population (descending).

This dataset is about countries in Central America, featuring 3 columns: country, incidence of HIV, and population. The preview is ordered by population (descending).

United Arab Emirates AE: Incidence of HIV: per 1,000 Uninfected Population data was reported at 0.130 Ratio in 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.120 Ratio for 2019. United Arab Emirates AE: Incidence of HIV: per 1,000 Uninfected Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.020 Ratio from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2020, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.130 Ratio in 2020 and a record low of 0.010 Ratio in 2004. United Arab Emirates AE: Incidence of HIV: per 1,000 Uninfected Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Arab Emirates – Table AE.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Number of new HIV infections among uninfected populations expressed per 1,000 uninfected population in the year before the period.;UNAIDS estimates.;Weighted average;This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.3.1 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

This research aimed to help two project countries (Malawi and Lesotho) increase access to learning for students living in high HIV prevalence areas who were at risk of grade repetition or school drop-out, through (i) complementing classroom teaching with self-study learner guides to provide more open, distance and flexible delivery of the curriculum and (ii) strengthening community support for learning. The research objectives were: (1) To increase understanding of how open, distance and flexible learning (ODFL) can be used to address the factors that disrupt schooling by conducting research with school teachers and community members; (2) To design and implement an intervention in primary schools (Grade 6) in Malawi and Junior secondary schools (Grade B) in Lesotho over one school year (January to November 2009); (3)To evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in reducing student absenteeism, drop-out and grade-repetition using an experimental design; (4) To disseminate the new knowledge gained to enable appropriate, evidence informed policy development to better integrate and more open and flexible curriculum delivery into schools and strengthen community support for vulnerable learners. ODFL initiatives, structures and networks that are already in place to implement HIV/AIDS policies were firstly identified through analyses of secondary data. Case studies were developed in contrasting communities severely affected by HIV and AIDS to identify contextual factors that can lead to exclusion from conventional schooling and dropping out. The case studies are complemented by data collected using a range of approaches such as semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, informal discussions with family members, participatory activities and observation. Based on this formative research, a pilot intervention will then be made through secondary schools to identify and trial a small-scale ODFL intervention package designed to overcome the barriers to conventional schooling identified in the case studies. The intervention will be evaluated qualitatively and also quantitatively using an experimental design. The impact was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. In each country there were 20 schools in the intervention group and 20 schools in the control group. Data to evaluate the impact of the programme on school attendance, drop-out and grade repetition were collected before and after the intervention. Student achievement was assessed by testing children in Mathematics and English before and after the intervention.

The study was conducted in 4 stages: (1) Sampling and randomization of schools; (2) Intervention design (informed by synthesizing existing knowledge, generating new knowledge and inviting critical comment from all stakeholders); (3) Intervention implementation; (4) Intervention evaluation.

This study aimed to increase access to education and learning for young people living in high HIV prevalence areas in Malawi and Lesotho, by developing a new, more flexible model of education that uses open, distance and flexible learning (ODFL) to complement and enrich conventional schooling. The findings showed that in Malawi, the programme reduced overall student drop-out by 42% (OR=0.58). This effect was not significantly different among at-risk children targeted by the program and those not targeted in their class suggesting the intervention had spillover effects beyond the intended beneficiaries. There were improvements in mathematics scores for at risk students and a history of grade repetition was a better predictor of future drop-out than orphan-hood. In Lesotho the intervention reduced absenteeism and improved Mathematics and English scores. These findings suggest that the intervention reached the most vulnerable and was effective in increasing access to education and learning.

Source: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)Note: The measures use household weights provided by the DHS as well as weights for household size.* DHS estimates, HIV prevalence among adults 15–49.** Denominator is limited to children 0–17 living in households in which at least one adult aged 18+ had a positive or negative HIV test result.*** Denominator includes all children 0–17 living in households selected for HIV testing. The lower bound estimate assumes that in households in which no adult was tested, if all eligible adults were tested none would test positive.Co-residence of Children 0–17 with HIV-infected adults, by Country.

Global Prevalence of HIV Among Males Aged 15-24 by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

In 2022, Brazil was the Latin American country with the highest number of people living with HIV. That year, approximately 990,000 patients were living with this condition in the South American country. Mexico followed with an estimate of around 370,000 people living with HIV.

This horizontal bar chart displays incidence of HIV (per 1,000 uninfected population) by region and is filtered where the region is Middle Africa. The data is about countries.