11 Facts about HIV/AIDS Around the World

1. There were more than 33.3 million living with HIV/AIDS in 2009.
2. HIV/AIDS is among the leading causes of death worldwide and the number one cause of death in Sub-Saharan Africa.
3. HIV/AIDS cases have been reported in all regions of the world, but the large majority of people living with the disease (approximately 95%) reside in low-and middle-income countries.
4. Worldwide, HIV is primarily transmitted heterosexually, although in many regions, men who have sex with men, injection drug users, and sex workers account for significant proportions of infections.
5. With only 12% of the world’s population, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to two-thirds (67%) of people living with HIV/AIDS.
6. Globally, there were 2.6 million children living with HIV/AIDS; 400,000 were newly infected in 2009. In the same year, one in seven children died of AIDS related causes.
7. 16 million children across the world have lost one or both parents to the epidemic; 77% of these orphans living in sub-Saharan Africa.
8. Nearly 2 million people are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean; 170,000 were newly infected in 2008.
9. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the epidemic has struck 1.5 million people, driven by injecting drug use.
10. Asia is believed to have nearly 6 million people living with HIV/AIDS, with India accounting for 2.31 million cases.
11. Teens and young adults, particularly girls and young women, continue to be at the center of the epidemic, with 15-24-year-olds accounting for 35% of new HIV infections across the world.

Sources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Henry Kaiser Family Foundation

National Center for Health Statistics

Averting HIV & AIDS