HIV/AIDS in the World

  • Approximately 39 million people worldwide are living with HIV.
  • While 86% of people living with HIV (PLWH) were aware of their status in 2022, approximately 5.5 million did not know they were living with the virus.
  • Since the beginning of the pandemic, 85.6 million people have acquired HIV and 40.4 million have died of AIDS-related illnesses.
Estimates number of adults and children newly infected with HIV | 2022

New infections

  • New HIV infections totaled 1.3 million, compared to 3.2 million in 1995, a decrease of 59%.
  • 2022 saw the fewest new infections in decades, with the biggest declines in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • However, in some regions, like eastern Europe and central Asia, new infections are on the rise.

AIDS-related deaths

  • Annual deaths from AIDS-related causes dropped from 650,000 in 2021 to 630,000 in 2022.
  • Eastern and southern Africa is the region with the most AIDS-related deaths: 260,000; North America and western and central Europe have the least: 13,000.

Access to treatment

  • 29.8 million people (76.4% of all PLWH) were accessing antiretroviral therapy in 2022, an increase from 7.7 million in 2010. 9.2 million were not receiving treatment. Roughly 2.1 million of people on treatment were not virally suppressed.
  • Access to treatment expanded across all regions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Along the continuum of care for all, 86% of PLWH knew their status in 2022. Among those who knew their status, 89% had accessed antiretroviral therapy. Among those accessing treatment, 93% had achieved viral suppression.
  • Adult women are more likely to be on treatment for men in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and eastern Europe. Overall, 82% of women (15 and older) had access to treatment compared to 72% of men in the same age range.
  • In 2022, routine viral load testing increased—21 million people were tested, compared with 6 million in 2015.
  • Access to antiretroviral therapy has averted nearly 20.8 million deaths over the last three decades.

Access to PrEP

  • Oral PrEP use continued to increase: Roughly 2.5 million people in at least 86 countries received the HIV prevention tool at least once in 2022. However, except for western and central Africa, PrEP use falls far beneath estimated need.
  • It should be noted that provision expansion of PrEP is limited to a small number of countries.

HIV Among Key Populations

  • Key population programs are underfunded across all regions.
  • MSM: HIV prevalence was 11 times higher than the general population (15-49).
  • People who inject drugs: HIV prevalence was 7 times higher than the general population.
  • Sex workers: HIV prevalence was 4 times higher than the general population
  • Transgender people: HIV prevalence was 14 times higher than the general population.
  • People who are incarcerated are 7.2 times more likely to be living with HIV than adults in the general population.

HIV Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women

  • Adolescent women and girls (15 to 24 years) continue to face health disparities.
  • Globally, in 2022, 4,000 adolescent women and girls (15 to 24 years) acquired HIV every week—3,100 of these occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • In sub-Saharan Africa, 63% of all new HIV infections in 2022 were among women and girls (all ages).

HIV Among Adult Women

  • Gender-based violence impacts individuals beyond physical and traumatic effects—studies show that this type of violence increases HIV acquisition risk in countries with high HIV prevalence and decrease prevention tool uptake and use of services.
  • In 2022, 82% of pregnant women living with HIV had access to antiretroviral treatment to prevent transmission of HIV to their child.
  • Women and girls made up 46% of all new HIV infections in 2022.
  • For those living with HIV and on treatment, women have a higher rate of viral suppression (76%), compared to children (46%) and men (67%).

HIV Among Children

  • Approximately, 130,000 children (under 15) newly acquired HIV in 2022 globally, with the most impacted regions being eastern and southern Africa (58,000), western and central Africa (51,000), and Asia and the Pacific (12,000).
  • New infections among children are the lowest they have been since the 1980s.
  • Since 2000, over 3 million infections in children were averted thanks to programs for preventing vertical transmission.
  • In 2022, an estimated 84,000 children died of AIDS-related causes.
  • In total, roughly 1.5 million children were living with HIV in 2022. 63% of children living with HIV knew their status; 91% of those who knew their status were on ART (57% of all children living with HIV were on ART); and 81% of those who knew status had achieved viral suppression (46% of all).

The Regional Picture (2022)

Eastern and southern Africa

  • People living with HIV: 20.8 million
  • New infections: 500,000
  • AIDS-related deaths: 260,000
  • People living with HIV on ART: 83%
  • This region has seen a 57% decrease in new HIV infections, as well as a 58% decrease in AIDS-related deaths since 2010.

Asia and the Pacific

  • People living with HIV: 6.5 million
  • New infections: 300,000
  • AIDS-related deaths: 150,000
  • People living with HIV on ART: 65%
  • Key populations, especially among young people (15-24 years) and their sexual partners, are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic, with young people comprising almost 25% of new HIV infections in 2022.
  • Antiretroviral coverage is below 50% for one-third of countries (22 countries with published data).

Western and Central Africa

  • People living with HIV: 4.8 million
  • New infections: 160,000
  • AIDS-related deaths: 120,000
  • People living with HIV on ART: 78%
  • New HIV infections decreased by 49% between 2010 and 2022.
  • Since 2015, adults on ART had more than doubled (from 36% to 82%).

Latin America

  • People living with HIV: 2.2 million
  • New infections: 110,000
  • AIDS-related deaths: 27,000
  • People living with HIV on ART: 72%
  • Since 2010, AIDS-related deaths have decreased by 32%. Annual new HIV infections have increased by 8%.

The Caribbean

  • People living with HIV: 330,000
  • New infections: 16,000
  • AIDS-related deaths: 5,600
  • People living with HIV on ART: 68%
  • In this region, new HIV acquisition decreased by 15% between 2010 and 2022. Increased treatment coverage effected a decrease in AIDS-related deaths by 53% between 2010 and 2022 (though decreases varied by country).

Middle East and North Africa

  • People living with HIV: 190,000
  • New infections: 17,000
  • AIDS-related deaths: 5,300
  • People living with HIV on ART: 50%
  • In 2022, only 67% of people living with HIV knew their status. Only 50% were accessing treatment; among women, treatment coverage was lowest (49%) and 34% of children living with HIV were accessing ART.

Eastern Europe and central Asia

  • People living with HIV: 2.0 million
  • New infections: 160,000
  • AIDS-related deaths: 48,000
  • People living with HIV on ART: 51%
  • Globally, this region has the sharpest increase in numbers of new HIV infections (49% increase since 2010) as well as an ongoing increase in numbers of AIDS-related deaths (46% increase since 2010).

Western and central Europe and North America

  • People living with HIV: 2.3 million
  • New infections: 58,000
  • AIDS-related deaths: 13,000
  • People living with HIV on ART: 76%
  • This region has seen a 23% decrease in new HIV infections between 2010 and 2022.

Sources

UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2023
UNAIDS Global HIV & AIDS Statistics Fact Sheet 2023