27+ Dreadful Statistics And Facts About HIV (2023)

Approximately 38 million people worldwide are living with AIDS/HIV.

While these numbers might seem huge, it is important to note that today, infection rates have dropped considerably. While this trend continues, it is important to ensure that individuals who are already infected have access to proper healthcare solutions.

Despite this aspect, according to research carried out by UNAIDS, it seems that approximately 38 million people are living with the disease at the moment, which is a worrying HIV statistic.

1.8 million children worldwide are currently infected with HIV.

This grim statistic showcases the number of children who are currently infected with the virus. It is essential to mention that most of these children have been infected by their own mothers during pregnancy, breastfeeding, or childbirth.

As such, we can see one of the main secondary effects associated with the disease – the inability to give birth and breastfeed children without putting them at risk of infection.

That said, the first two statistics allow us to give a brief answer to the question of how common is HIV. Luckily, compared to other diseases, HIV is not too widespread, granted that safety precautions can be taken to reduce the chance of infection to practically 0.

Even so, there were times when HIV transmission rates reached worrying highs. Thus, it is essential to counter transmission cases for children, since they have virtually no defense against the disease before being born.

Eswatini Has the Highest Prevalence of HIV With 27% of the Population Affected

HIV is among the leading causes of death in Eswatini. UNICEF reported that 27% of all 15- to 59-year old individuals are affected, making it the most HIV infected country in the world. On the bright side, the rate of new infections has been declining over the past 5-years while the rate of new infections among those aged 18- to 49-years old remains stable at 1.4%.
To counter this, comprehensive life skills/sex education programs are being provided as part of secondary education. The progress is really slow, however, because secondary-aged children are still in primary school.

Roughly 690,000 people died indirectly of AIDS in 2019.

This statistic is important because it showcases that AIDS does not represent a direct cause of death. It’s rather the deficient immune system that is the main culprit, granted that a weak immune system is no longer capable of fighting disease and infection.

According to UNAIDS, an error margin must be taken into account. Hence, the real numbers are situated between 500,000 and 970,000.

In 2019, roughly 25.4 million people worldwide used antiretroviral therapy, meant to battle the symptoms of AIDS.

This allows us to determine better the number of people who are currently seeking treatment for this condition. It is, however, important to note that a direct treatment for HIV/AIDS does not exist at the moment. The therapies prescribed by medics are mostly useful in strengthening the immune system, yet they do not heal AIDS. Luckily, reports indicate that AIDS deaths per year are decreasing, thanks to the use of antiretroviral therapy.

However, important medical advancements were made recently. Therefore, it is likely that in the next couple of years, better therapies will be available for patients. Current research also points towards a future anti-HIV vaccine, which would play an important role in helping eradicate the virus once and for all, according to AIDS statistics.

It is estimated that 36.2 million adults and 1.8 million children are currently infected with HIV across the world.

We notice that the virus is less spread amongst children, who usually catch it from their infected mothers in the womb and during breastfeeding. In the case of pregnant women, following the prescribed medical therapy is the best way to reduce how many people have AIDS. It is important to note that results depend from case to case, so no pregnant woman infected with AIDS should proceed with her pregnancy without taking medication.

In the case of infected adults, practicing safe sex and informing their partners about the medical condition is essential. In most countries, intentional HIV transmission via sexual intercourse is a punishable offense.

Surprisingly, only 81% of people living with HIV were aware of their condition in 2019, thus influencing overall HIV transmission statistics as well.

As such, this statistic showcases that AIDS disease does not normally show symptoms immediately. Additionally, it also proves that many people are generally unaware of their current health status, whereas others refuse to seek medical treatment due to poverty, lack of health clinics, or improper education.

Roughly 7.2 million people did not know they were infected with HIV in 2019, according to HIV/AIDS statistics.

Only 62% of people with HIV worldwide were seeking medical treatment.

Despite being aware of their medical condition, around 38% of people decide not to seek medical attention for their HIV infection. As mentioned above, this is typically due to expensive healthcare, lack of healthcare, or lack of education over what to do in case of a disease. Therefore, this can influence other statistics on HIV.

Worldwide, the rate of deaths caused by AIDS has been reduced by over 55% since 2004.

As we can see, the access to healthcare alongside treatment plans have both improved, reducing the number of people who die from an AIDS-related cause on a yearly basis. This statistic is much better than stats from 2004, when the world saw one of the biggest epidemics of HIV/AIDS. Therefore, the question of how common is HIV will no longer receive the epidemic status.

Since 2010, AIDS mortality rates have reduced by roughly 33%.

Similarly, this statistic also showcases an overall improvement in treatment plans, HIV/AIDS education, and access to healthcare. It is, however, important to note that these results are compared between 2018 and 2010, thus showcasing that there’s still enough room to improve. In any case, AIDS deaths per year will likely continue to reduce in the future.

The risk of HIV is highest for men with male partners and drug users.

When compared to the general population, HIV has higher transmission rates for male-male relationships, drug users, sex workers, and transgender people, in this particular order. This has been established in a variety of research efforts undertaken by HIV prevention organizations, according to AIDS demographics.

The leading AIDS-related cause of death worldwide is tuberculosis.

Reports indicate that TB accounts for around one in three deaths caused by AIDS. The virus makes it much easier to catch this disease but harder for the body to protect itself. Around 9% of people who were affected by tuberculosis in 2017 were also infected with HIV, thus increasing the overall HIV death rate.

It is estimated that 49% of people infected with both tuberculosis and AIDS do not know about both diseases.

As such, these individuals do not get appropriate medical attention for both diseases, thus leading to severe symptoms and decreasing the general chance of survival. Therefore, it is important to get tested for HIV often, especially if you are part of a risk group (unprotected sexual intercourse, drug injections, infected parents, and/or blood contact with someone else), according to AIDS statistics.

Additionally, screening for HIV is also necessary when affected by a disease that is commonly associated with the virus. This is a prevalent issue in many of the world’s developed and under-developed countries, which has the potential of negatively influencing transmission rates. Educational efforts in this regard are currently underway in several regions, according to research.

HIV Infection Rates

1.7 million people were infected with HIV during 2019.

It seems like infection rates are still fairly high, but keep in mind the fact that these numbers represented the worldwide population during 2019. Hence, the numbers are also lower when compared to the past year, thus proving that measures taken so far are efficient.

Since the start of the HIV epidemic, it is estimated that 75.7 million people were infected in total.

The error margin, in this case, ranges from 55.9 million to 100 million. That said, the actual numbers may be lower or higher than the standard threshold decided upon by UNAIDS in its HIV AIDS statistics.

The peak of HIV infections was in 1997. Since then, new infections have been reduced by 40%.

This statistic proves that healthcare professionals, NGOs, and governments have indeed managed to reduce the overall number of infections with HIV. To put things into perspective, 2.9 million people were infected in 1997, and only 1.7 million were infected in 2019, as HIV infection rates point out.

As such, we can thank medical advancements and numerous educational efforts that were made to ensure people become more aware of the main methods by which AIDS is transmitted. Despite the positive changes, educational and medical efforts shouldn’t stop, since the overall goal is to reduce the number of HIV infections to 0. However, this challenge will likely be achieved many years from now.

HIV Transmission Rates

According to the CDC, 63 out of 10,000 people who use an infected needle will get HIV.

This allows us to debunk a common misconception regarding the use of infected needles. Many people seem to think that the chances of transmission in this scenario are 100%. Nevertheless, nobody should share a needle with a person living with HIV. The same goes for sharing needles in general, granted that numerous diseases are passed this way, according to the US HIV incidence rates.

For insertive sex with an infected person, the risk of transmission is situated at four out of 10,000. For receptive sex with an infected person, the risk increases to eight out of 10,000 exposures.

Additionally, it is also important to point out that transmission rates are highest for those who carry out anal sex with an infected person. In this case, the transmission rates are situated at 138 out of 10,000 exposures.

In the United States, diagnoses are highest in Florida and California.

The table below is given as a reference to understand better where HIV diagnoses are most common in the United States. In regions like these, local governments and NGOs must take the necessary action to help reduce the number of infections. Yearly deaths are also more common in these regions, due to the higher HIV transmission rates.

Conclusion