63 Stunning HIV Statistics

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been one of the largest epidemics in the world for more than two decades. It is the same virus that can lead to AIDS. The earliest case of HIV that has been recognized came from the blood sample of a man who came from the Congo, with a transition from chimpanzees to humans occurring from hunting and meat trading.

Before the 1980s, it is estimated that up to 300,000 people were infected with HIV. The earliest known case in the United States is believed to be Robert Rayford, who was diagnosed in 1968 as a 16-year-old. Rayford is not believed to have left the Midwest or received a blood transfusion, which means HIV in the US may have been presented before 1966.

Before 1984, it was believed that HIV was primarily within four demographics: heroin users, hemophiliacs, men with same-gender attractions, and people with a Haitian ancestry. After 1984, it was discovered that HIV could spread through sexual contact in addition to blood exposures. At that time, 3,064 people were diagnosed with AIDS and 1 in 3 of them would die.

Today’s HIV statistics offer much more hope than they did in the 1960s up through the 1990s, but it is still an epidemic that must be recognized.

Statistics About HIV

1. An estimated 1.2 million people are currently living with HIV in the United States right now. More than 10% of them are currently undiagnosed and do not know that they are infected. (AMFAR)

2. An average of about 40,000 people are newly diagnosed with an HIV infection in the United States every year. (AMFAR)

3. About 6,800 people die every year from HIV or AIDS annually in the United States. (AMFAR)

4. 75% of those who are diagnosed with HIV in the United States are men. For women who are diagnosed with HIV, a majority of them contract the virus through heterosexual intercourse. (AMFAR)

5. From 2005-2014, the annual number of new HIV diagnoses in the United States declined by 19%. (US Government Statistics)

6. Men who are either gay or bisexual, particularly men who are African-American with these attractions, are the most likely to be affected by HIV in the United States. Gay and bisexual men account for 82% of HIV diagnoses in men and 2 out of every 3 diagnoses in the United States. (US Government Statistics)

7. African-American/Black gay or bisexual men accounted for 10,315 of the new HIV diagnoses in the US last year. Caucasian/White gay and bisexual men accounted for 7,570 of the new diagnoses. (US Government Statistics)

8. African-Americans accounted for 45% of the new HIV diagnoses in 2015, despite the fact that they comprise just 12% of the total population in the United States. (AMFAR)

9. Although African-American gay and bisexual men had HIV diagnoses rise by 22%, they have leveled off and risen by less than 1% since 2010. (CDC)

10. Heterosexual contact accounts for about 9,000 new HIV diagnoses every year. (CDC)

11. For women who are diagnosed with HIV, 13% of the total cases are due to the use of injection drugs. (CDC)

12. From 2005-2014, the cases of HIV among all women declined by 40%. Heterosexuals have seen diagnoses decline by 35%, while those who inject drugs have seen diagnoses decline by 63%. (CDC)

13. In 2015, Hispanics and Latinos accounted for 24% of the total HIV diagnoses, but represent just 18% of the total US population. (CDC)

14. Of those who are diagnosed with HIV in the US, 4% are under the age of 20. 5% are above the age of 60. In comparison, 37% of total new HIV cases were in the 20-29 age demographic and another 24% were in the 30-39 age demographic. (CDC)

15. Young people are the most likely to be unaware that they have an HIV infection. 51% of those in the 13-24 age group are estimated to not know that they have HIV. (CDC)

16. From a global perspective, there are 36.7 million people who are currently living with HIV right now. An estimated 40% of those people do not know their current status. (AVERT)

17. 1.8 million people who have HIV globally are children, with the vast majority of them living in low- or middle-income countries. (AVERT)

18. Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, an estimated 78 million people have become infected with HIV and 35 million people have died from illnesses that are related to HIV/AIDS. (AVERT)

19. About 25.5 million people globally who are diagnosed with HIV are living in sub-Saharan Africa. 19 million people live in East or Southern Africa, which saw 46% of all new HIV infections globally in 2015. (AVERT)

20. The Middle East and Northern Africa have the lowest HIV infection rates in the world today, with just 230,000 total cases estimated. In comparison, Eastern Europe and Central Asia has 7 times more HIV infections. Latin America and the Caribbean have 10 times more HIV infections. (AVERT)

21. There were 2.1 million people newly infected with HIV in the world in 2015. This reflects a 6% total decrease in the number of global infections since 2010. (AVERT)

22. White gay and bisexual men have seen a steady decrease in total new diagnoses, with an 18% overall decline being experienced in the United States. (US Government Statistics)

23. In 2014, there were 12,333 deaths due to any cause of people who had an HIV diagnosis ever classified as AIDS in the US. About half of those deaths were directly attributed to HIV. (CDC)

24. About 17 million people out of the estimated 78 million who have HIV are currently received antiretroviral treatments. This more than double the number of people who were being treated by ART in 2010. About half of all children who have HIV can access this treatment options, as can about 46% of adults with HIV. (AVERT)

25. 77% of pregnant women who are living with HIV were able to access treatment in order to prevent virus transmission to their fetus. (AVERT)

26. The leading cause of death among people who are living with HIV is tuberculosis. It accounts for about 33% of all HIV/AIDS related deaths. Since 2004, however, there has been a decline in TB-related deaths with HIV of 32%. (AVERT)

27. In the United States, the Southern states account for an estimated 44% of all the people who are living with HIV right now. This is despite the fact that 37% of the population in the US lives in this region. (AMFAR)

28. In 2015, $19 billion was invested into HIV and AIDS responses for lower income countries. 57% of the response budget to this virus comes from the domestic budgets of those nations. (AVERT)

29. The rising numbers of HIV infections in some countries means that the amount of funding will need to be increased to an estimated $23.9 billion by 2030 in order to keep responses at the same levels as they are today. (AVERT)

30. About 5,700 people, on average, will be infected with HIV every day around the world. That breaks down to about 240 new HIV diagnoses every hour. (AMFAR)

31. By the end of 2015, an estimated 1.1 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses around the world. Another 2.1 million people were newly infected as well. (UNAIDS)

32. Since the start of the HIV epidemic, about 35 million people have died because of HIV or an AIDS-related illness. (UNAIDS)

33. New HIV infections among children have declined by 50% since 2010. Worldwide, 150,000 children became newly infected with HIV in 2015, which is 140,000 fewer new cases than were reported in 2010. (UNAIDS)

34. AIDS-related deaths have fallen by 45% since their peak in 2005. (UNAIDS)

35. 129 low- and middle-income countries reported that there was a total of 150 million people that were tested for HIV in 2014. (World Health Organization)

36. The reported number of health facilities that provide HIV testing and counseling increased from 143,000 in 2011 to 177,000 in 2014 in the world’s 129 low- and middle-income countries. (World Health Organization)

37. Almost 13.6 million HIV-positive individuals had access to ART in the 129 low- and middle-income countries where this virus is the most prevalent. (World Health Organization)

38. A 20-year-old man in the United States who is diagnosed with HIV and begins treatment early can expect to live to the age of 77, which is the average lifespan for an American man right now. (Healthline)

39. In 1992, there were 250,000 reported cases of AIDS in the United States and 200,000 people had died. By 2004, there were 1 million cases of AIDS and 500,000 had died. Although the numbers are staggering, it also reflects a reduction in the mortality rate from 75% to 50% in just 12 years. (Healthline)

40. In 2011, an estimated 49,000 Americans were newly diagnosed with HIV, but only 32,000 people developed AIDS. (Healthline)

41. Caucasian/White heterosexual women are the least likely to obtain an HIV infection. Fewer than 1,000 women in this demographic contract HIV annually in the United States. (AMFAR)

42. Out of the total number of people living with HIV worldwide in 2015, about half of them are women and girls. (UNICEF)

43. In 2015, nearly 3 times more adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa were newly infected with HIV compared to boys in the same age group, which is completely different change in infection demographics compared to the US and Europe. (UNICEF)

44. Children living with HIV who are under the age of 4 face the highest risk of AIDS-related death compared to any other age group. (UNICEF)

45. Thanks to early intervention and treatment measures, more than 30 million new HIV infections have been prevented since 2000. This means nearly 8 million deaths have been averted. (UNICEF)

46. In the United States, California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Georgia make up almost half of all the new HIV diagnoses which occur every year. (Healthline)

47. 97% of the people who are currently living with HIV are in the developing world with only moderate incomes at best. (Healthline)

48. Modern day antiretroviral therapy reduces the chances of an HIV-positive person transmitting the virus to someone else by 96%. (Healthline)

49. HIV education is mandatory in 33 states and in the District of Columbia. (Healthline)

50. 37% of people between the ages of 18-64 in the United States have reported receiving at least one HIV test. (Healthline)

51. While gay and bisexual men represent just 4% of the US male population, they comprise 78% of new HIV infections. From 2008-2010, while every other group was experiencing declines in HIV infection rates, this group saw a 12% increase in transmission rates. (Healthline)

52. Truvada can reduce the risk of transmission, on its own, by more than 90%. (Healthline)

53. The average cost of treating just one American who is HIV-positive over the course of their lifetime is over $375,000. (Healthline)

54. The US is expected to spend $30 billion on HIV programs in the next year, with $6.5 billion of that funding designated to provide aid abroad. (Healthline)

55. Kenya, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe spend up to 60% of their total health ministry budget on HIV and AIDS. Tanzania has lost up to 7% of its population to this epidemic, while Zambia has lost 12% of its population to this virus. (Healthline)

56. AIDS is the leading cause of death for adolescents in the 10-19 age demographic on the African continent. It is also the second-leading cause of death for children in this age group globally. (UNICEF)

57. The majority of deaths that adolescents experience due to HIV is due to infections that were acquired as babies and then survived until their teenage years without knowing they were infected or fell through the cracks in receiving care. (UNICEF)

58. 25 children still acquire HIV every hour, even with modern prevention and treatment methods in place. (UNICEF)

59. Fewer than half of all children are tested for HIV before they reach 2 months of age. This means that of the 2.6 million children under the age of 15 that are living with HIV, just 1 in 3 is being treated for it. (UNICEF)

60. 11% of teens 15-19-years-old are tested for HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. 70% of the new infections in this age demographic are among girls. (UNICEF)

61. 70% of girls 15-19-years-old in sub-Saharan African with multiple sexual partners did not use a condom the last time they had sex, which is the same figure of girls who make up new infections in the region. (UNICEF)

62. 70% is also the number of boys and girls in the 15-19 age demographic who do not have a comprehensive knowledge about HIV and its dangers. (UNICEF)

63. More than 13 million children in the world today have lost either one or both of their parents to AIDS. (UNICEF)

HIV may still be a global epidemic that affects millions of people, but it doesn’t have the same negative stigmas that it once held. It has become a virus that is highly treatable and those who are infected can still go on to live happy and productive lives. Many even believe that a cure or a vaccine against this virus could be available within the next 5-10 years.

These HIV statistics might paint a grim picture for some countries, but infection rates around the world are decreasing from an overall perspective. If we can take this data to fund treatment and educational programs in the highest risk nations, we can continue to have victories over HIV.