Global Statistics
In 2008, 33.4 million people were living with HIV/AIDS globally. More than 25 million people have died worldwide since the beginning of the epidemic.
The annual number of new HIV infections declined from 3.2 million in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2008.
The global prevalence rate (percent of population age 15-49 with HIV) is 0.8%.
More than half of new infections are among those under 25 years of age, with ages 15-24 accounting for 40% of new infections.
Although 430,000 children under age 15 became infected with HIV in 2008, this number has been declining since 2002 due to expanded services focused on preventing mother-to-child transmission.
Of the 2.1 million children living with HIV in 2008, 86 % live in sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2008, 2 million adults and children died from AIDS. This estimate is roughly 10% lower than the peak number of AIDS-related deaths in 2004.
Sub-Saharan Africa has been hardest hit by HIV, accounting for 67% of people living with HIV/AIDS and 72% of all AIDS deaths in 2008 even though only 11-12% of the global population lives in this region.
After sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean is the second hardest hit region with an adult prevalence of 1%.
Women represent half of all people living with HIV worldwide, and 59 percent in sub-Saharan Africa.
Epidemics throughout the world are evolving. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, epidemics that were driven primarily by transmission among injecting drug users are now increasingly characterized by significant sexual transmission, while in parts of Asia epidemics are becoming increasingly characterized by significant transmission among heterosexual couples.
Since 2001, there has been a 167% increase in people living with HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with an estimated 1.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS. Although injection drug use remains the primary route of transmission in this region, epidemics are now increasingly characterized by significant sexual transmission.
Selected Sources:
UNAIDS/WHO. 2009 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic. 2009.
Page last updated:
11/30/2009