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.

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.

The states with the highest rates of HIV diagnoses in 2021 included Georgia, Louisiana, and Florida. However, the states with the highest number of people with HIV were California, Texas, and Florida. In California, there were around 4,399 people diagnosed with HIV. HIV/AIDS diagnoses The number of diagnoses of HIV/AIDS in the United States has continued to decrease in recent years. In 2021, there were an estimated 35,769 HIV diagnoses in the U.S. down from 38,433 diagnoses in the year 2017. In total, since the beginning of the epidemic in 1981 there have been around 1.25 million diagnoses in the United States. Deaths from HIV Similarly, the death rate from HIV has also decreased significantly over the past few decades. In 2019, there were only 1.4 deaths from HIV per 100,000 population, the lowest rate since the epidemic began. However, the death rate varies greatly depending on race or ethnicity, with the death rate from HIV for African Americans reaching 19.1 per 100,000 population in 2020.

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 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.

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.

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 statistic describes the countries with the highest number of new HIV infections around the world in 2015. In that year, there were some 380 thousand new HIV infections reported from South Africa.

In 2021, the states with the highest number of HIV diagnoses were California, Texas, and Florida. That year, there were a total of around 35,716 HIV diagnoses in the United States. Of these, 4,399 were diagnosed in California. HIV infections have been decreasing globally for many years. In the year 2000, there were 2.8 million new infections worldwide, but this number had decreased to around 1.3 million new infections by 2023. The number of people living with HIV remains fairly steady, but the number of those that have died due to AIDS has reached some of its lowest peaks in a decade. Currently, there is no functional cure for HIV or AIDS, but improvements in therapies and treatments have enabled those living with HIV to have a much improved quality of life.

In 2023, South Africa and Nigeria had the highest number of deaths due to AIDS worldwide, with around 50 thousand and 45 thousand such deaths, respectively. African countries account for eight of the top 10 countries with the highest number of AIDS-related deaths worldwide. AIDS-related deaths worldwide have been gradually declining over the past decade, decreasing from 1.3 million deaths in 2010 to 630 thousand deaths in 2023. HIV/AIDS HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is an infectious sexually transmitted disease that is transmitted via exposure to infected semen, blood, vaginal and anal fluids and breast milk. HIV weakens the human immune system, resulting in the affected person being unable to fight off opportunistic infections. The top 15 countries worldwide with the highest prevalence of new HIV infections as of 2023 were all African. HIV treatment Although there is currently no effective cure for HIV, death can be prevented by taking HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART). Access to antiretroviral therapy worldwide has significantly increased in the past decade. As of 2023, around 30.7 million people with HIV worldwide were receiving ART. The leading countries with the highest percentage of HIV-infected children who were receiving ART were Eswatini, Kenya, and Lesotho.

Eswatini had the highest AIDS mortality rate in the world, at 2.55 per 1,000 population in 2023. This statistic presents the AIDS mortality rate in select African countries in 2023.

In 2023, the number of diagnosed HIV cases in Mexico amounted to approximately 17,000. That year, the State of Mexico, Veracruz, and Mexico City were the federative entities with the highest number of people diagnosed with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), with more than 1,000 patients each. Moreover, most registered HIV cases in the Latin American country between 1984 and 2021 corresponded to men. People living with HIV in Latin America In the last few years, the number of people living with HIV in Latin America has been increasing. According to recent estimates, the number of individuals living with this condition rose from around 1.6 million in 2013 to almost 2.2 million by 2022. From a country perspective, Brazil and Mexico were the Latin American nations where most people were living with the disease, reaching approximately 990,000 and 370,000 patients, respectively. ART is more costly in Latin America HIV is commonly treated through antiretroviral therapy (ART), a drug-based treatment aimed at reducing the viral load in the blood to help control the development of the disease while improving the health of those infected. Although the share of deaths among people living with HIV due to causes unrelated to AIDS increased globally since 2010, there are still inequalities in the access to ART therapy. As of 2022, Latin America and the Caribbean recorded the highest average price per person for HIV antiretroviral therapy compared to other regions worldwide.

About 4.27 out of 100,000 people in China registered to have AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) in 2020. The increasing number of AIDS cases in China can be attributed mostly to intravenous drug use, prostitution, and blood donations. AIDS is caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Global HIV/AIDS epidemic

Globally, the number of new HIV infections declined significantly over the last decade. According to the estimation from UNAIDS, the virus had infected about 0.7 percent of the total adult population aged between 15 and 49 years in 2021. That year, there were 657 thousand AIDS-related deaths worldwide. Most death cases were registered in African countries, whereas around 21 percent were registered in the Asia and Pacific region.

Sexually transmitted infections in China

In China, AIDS ranked eleventh in terms of incidence rate of infectious diseases. However, it remained the deadliest in the group, causing nearly 19 thousand deaths in 2020. Compared to other sexually transmitted infections (STI), AIDS had the lowest incidence rate. Hepatitis B had the highest rate of new cases – about 64.29 out of 100,000 people, followed by syphilis and gonorrhea. It is worth noting that the official data of STI are commonly lower than the actual figures. Lack of STI testing knowledge, low income, and social stigmatization are the main reasons why some patients do not seek medical help when they contract an STI.

HIV/AIDS deaths in the U.S. have dropped significantly in recent years. In 1995, the death rate from HIV per 100,000 people was 16.2. That number has since decreased to 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2022. The reduction in the HIV death rate in the U.S. can be attributed to an increase in access to HIV medications. HIV/AIDS in the U.S. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) cause a systemic viral infection that damages the immune system. AIDS is a syndrome that is caused by HIV. AIDS is when the immune system is severely weakened by HIV and the body can no longer fight off infections. The number of AIDS diagnoses in the U.S. has decreased significantly in recent years. Among all U.S. states, Georgia, followed by Louisiana, had the highest rates of new HIV diagnoses in 2021. HIV/AIDS treatments in the U.S. HIV/AIDS treatments include antiretroviral medications to reduce the levels of HIV within the body. The largest funders for HIV/AIDS medications and research are the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Ryan White Program. The top HIV drug worldwide, based on revenue generated in 2023 was Biktarvy. Around the world, access to antiretroviral treatment has increased dramatically in recent years, a huge step in reducing the number of HIV-related deaths. There is currently no cure for HIV.

In 2021, India reported an HIV prevalence rate of nearly nine percent among injecting drug users, which was the highest rate among seven selected high risk population groups across the country. Meanwhile, the prevalence rate among Hijra or Transgender people amounted to approximately 3.7 percent.

In 2022, approximately 2.5 million people were living with HIV in India. However, there has been a constant decrease in the number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) since 2003, and from 2008 onward, there have been less than three million PLHIV yearly.

HIV risk-groups

India’s HIV epidemic is the third-largest in the world. However, this is primarily concentrated among key populations who are at a higher risk of contracting the disease. One of the main drivers of this is unprotected sex among female sex workers and their clients, partners, and spouses. Injecting drugs are also becoming one of the common ways through which HIV can be transmitted due to the reuse of needles. In addition, the prevalence of HIV is higher among men than women. This can be attributed to the increase in the share of men who have sex with men, migrant workers, and drug use injections.

Sex-workers

While prostitution is considered legal in India, all activities associated with running brothels or sex trafficking are prohibited. As a result, there is severe police activity targeting sex workers, with routine raids in areas with brothels justified by related laws. A recent study in Andhra Pradesh suggested a positive correlation between police abuse and an increased risk of HIV along with inconsistency in the usage of condoms. It is not uncommon that stigma and discrimination against sex-workers limit their access to decent healthcare in India.

In 2020, the estimated number of HIV-infected people in Thailand stood at around 500 thousand, followed by about 250 thousand HIV-infected people in Vietnam. In comparison, the estimated number of HIV-infected people in Sri Lanka was around 3.7 thousand that year.

Globally, over many years, one of the top drugs for the treatment of HIV/AIDS is Genvoya, marketed by Gilead. In 2023, Genvoya generated some two billion U.S. dollars in revenue. Biktarvy, also marketed by Gilead, was the best-selling HIV/AIDS treatment and generated around 11.9 billion U.S. dollars in revenue. Gilead is the drug manufacturer most specialized in developing drugs for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS cases worldwide

HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system, leading to an increased risk of infections and can lead to death. HIV/AIDS first appeared in global populations in the 1980s. According to current estimates, the prevalence of HIV is highest in low and middle income countries. Eswatini, followed by Lesotho, had the highest rates of HIV infections in 2022. The number of new HIV infections by world region is highest among residents of Eastern and Southern Africa.

Access to HIV/AIDS treatment

Effective treatment for HIV was not available until the early 1990s. Access to therapy has increased since the early 2000s, and as of 2022 there were approximately 30 million people that had access to antiretroviral therapy. Among countries around the world, Uganda, India and Kenya, to name a few, have the lowest rates of access to antiretroviral medications for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Meanwhile, trends indicate that children living with HIV in Asia or the Pacific have some of the highest rates of access to antiretroviral therapy globally.

In 2022, Jamaica and Suriname were the countries with the highest number of deaths per thousand people due to HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean, with an estimate of 0.38 deaths per 1,000 people. Belize followed, with around 0.26 deaths per 1,000 people. Meanwhile, Peru and Ecuador had the lowest rate of HIV-related deaths in the region that year. That year, the Latin American country with the highest number of people living with HIV was Brazil.

The number of HIV cases in Sweden fluctuated during the provided time interval, and amounted to 304 cases in 2023. The highest number of cases were in 2014 and 2018 when they amounted to 481. In 2022, 446 new cases of HIV were diagnosed in Sweden, which is a higher number than for its neighboring countries Denmark, Norway and Finland.

The most common disease group HIV is primarily spread through sexual contact or through blood contact, and in Sweden in 2023, the most common ages among the transmitted was individuals from 30 to 39 years, and there were more transmissions among men than women.
 

Increase in other sexually transmitted diseases The spread of HIV in Sweden is today limited, to a large extent because of rapid diagnosis and efficient treatment to basically all transmitted. Furthermore, the long-term increase of chlamydia that has been going on for years seems to have stopped, and the number of chlamydia cases are decreasing. However, the spread of other sexually transmitting diseases have an opposite trend. The number of syphilis infection cases has been increasing since 2014, and according to Folkhälsomyndigheten (the Public Health Agency of Sweden), it is especially worrying that the previously low spread of gonorrhea is also increasing.