 | This article's factual accuracy is disputed .(May 2024) |
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, varies in prevalence from countries. Listed here are the prevalence rates among adults in various countries, based on data from various sources, largely the CIA World Factbook. [1] [2] [3]
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As of 2022, around 39 million people, or 0.7% of the population, were estimated to be infected with HIV globally. Prevalence was higher among sex workers, gay and bisexual men, people who inject drugs, transgender people, and prisoners. [4]
The HIV pandemic is most severe in Southern Africa. Over 10% of all people infected with HIV/AIDS reside within the region. Adult HIV prevalence exceeds 20% in Eswatini, Botswana, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, while an additional five countries report adult HIV prevalence of at least 10%.
In absolute numbers, South Africa (9.2 million)—followed by Kenya (7.49 million), Mozambique (2.48 million), and Nigeria (2.45 million)—had the highest HIV/AIDS number of cases by the start of 2024. [2] [5] While South Africa's large population of HIV-positive people is attributable to its high disease prevalence (17.3%, one of the highest in the world), Nigeria's is lower at 1.3%. [1] However, countries such as Nigeria with high HIV rates above 1% are classified as having Generalized HIV Epidemics (GHEs) by UNAIDS. [6]
