Imagine a world where relentless progress, from a dramatic 69% drop in AIDS-related deaths since 2004 to a 59% decline in new infections since 2010, has brought us to a pivotal moment where 39 million people are living with HIV, a testament to both the triumphs of treatment and the enduring, unequal challenges of the epidemic.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, an estimated 39.0 million people were living with HIV worldwide, with 1.3 million newly infected
- The global HIV prevalence rate among adults aged 15-49 was 0.7% in 2022
- Between 2010 and 2022, new HIV infections declined by 59% globally from 2.1 million to 1.3 million
- Women accounted for 53% of people living with HIV adults globally in 2022
- In 2022, 3.8 million children aged 0-14 were living with HIV globally
- Adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 accounted for 75% of new HIV infections among adolescents in 2022
- Eastern and Southern Africa holds 53% of global women living with HIV in 2022
- In 2022, Western and Central Africa had HIV prevalence of 1.5% among adults 15-49
- Latin America saw 120,000 new HIV infections in 2022
- In 2022, 29.8 million people living with HIV were accessing antiretroviral therapy globally
- Global ART coverage reached 76% among adults and 63% among children in 2022
- 25.6 million people on ART in Eastern and Southern Africa in 2022
- In 2022, AIDS-related deaths dropped to 630,000, down 69% from 2004 peak of 2.0 million
- TB remains leading cause of death among PLHIV, 167,000 TB/HIV deaths in 2022
- Orphans due to AIDS: 15.2 million children under 18 globally in 2022
Global HIV progress continues but key populations and regions remain disproportionately affected.
Demographics
- Women accounted for 53% of people living with HIV adults globally in 2022
- In 2022, 3.8 million children aged 0-14 were living with HIV globally
- Adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 accounted for 75% of new HIV infections among adolescents in 2022
- People aged 50 and older represented 12% of all people living with HIV in 2022 globally
- In sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls comprised 63% of new HIV infections in 2022
- Gay men and other men who have sex with men accounted for 22% of new global HIV infections in 2022
- People who inject drugs represented 12% of new HIV infections globally in 2022
- Sex workers accounted for 13% of new HIV infections worldwide in 2022
- Transgender people had an HIV prevalence of 19% globally among key populations in recent estimates
- In 2022, 4.6 million young people aged 15-24 were living with HIV globally
- Prisoners and other incarcerated people accounted for 8% of new HIV infections in 2022
- In Eastern Europe, 70% of new HIV diagnoses in 2022 were among men who have sex with men or people who inject drugs
- Globally, 53% of adults living with HIV were women in 2022
- Children under 15 made up 10% of all AIDS-related deaths in 2022
- In Latin America, men who have sex with men accounted for 60% of new infections in 2022
- Young women in sub-Saharan Africa had 3.3 times higher HIV incidence than young men in 2022
- Globally, 1.3 million new infections in 2022 included 75% among adults 15+
- People living with HIV aged 50+ increased to 5.9 million in 2022 from 4.8 million in 2019
- Female sex workers had HIV prevalence of 3.5% globally in key population surveys
- Men who have sex with men had 7.7% HIV prevalence in global estimates
- Transgender women faced 49 times higher HIV risk than general adult population
- In 2022, 25.6 million PLHIV in Eastern and Southern Africa, 63% women
- People who inject drugs had 5.5% HIV prevalence globally
- Adolescents 10-19 girls accounted for 82% of adolescent AIDS deaths in 2022
- In Western and Central Africa, young women 15-24 had incidence rate 5.9 times higher than men
- Globally, 37% of new pediatric HIV infections occurred in 20 countries with highest burden
- Eastern and Southern Africa had 20.8 million PLHIV women in 2022
- Sub-Saharan Africa PLHIV: 63% female adults in 2022
- Eastern Europe new infections 2022: 58% among PWID
- Global transgender HIV prevalence estimated at 19% in 2022 surveys
- Sub-Saharan Africa: 670,000 new infections among women 2022
Demographics Interpretation
While women and girls, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, bear the overwhelming and heartbreaking numerical burden of this epidemic, these global statistics expose a brutal truth: HIV's path is ruthlessly carved along the entrenched fault lines of gender inequality, poverty, and the criminalization and marginalization of key populations.
Mortality and Prevention
- In 2022, AIDS-related deaths dropped to 630,000, down 69% from 2004 peak of 2.0 million
- TB remains leading cause of death among PLHIV, 167,000 TB/HIV deaths in 2022
- Orphans due to AIDS: 15.2 million children under 18 globally in 2022
- Prevention averted 29 million new infections since epidemic start
- In 2022, 90,000 children died from AIDS-related causes
- Male circumcision programs reached 30 million men in Africa by 2022, averting millions deaths
- PMTCT coverage: 83% of pregnant women living with HIV received ART in 2022
- New HIV infections among children declined 62% since 2010 to 160,000 in 2022
- Condoms and lubricants distributed: 44 billion since 2000, preventing 117 million infections
- Needle-syringe programs provided 12 billion clean syringes since 2000, averting 22 million infections
- Opioid substitution therapy reached 850,000 people who inject drugs in 2022
- HIV testing services reached 86% of PLHIV globally in 2022
- Self-testing kits distributed to 100 million people cumulatively by 2022
- PrEP prevented 91,000 infections in 2022 among 1.3 million users
- DREAMS partnership reached 2.3 million adolescent girls with prevention in 2022
- 52% decline in new infections among sex workers due to prevention programs since 2010
- MSM new infections down 11% globally from 2020-2022 with targeted prevention
- 90-90-90 to 95-95-95 shift averted additional deaths through better suppression
- AIDS orphans declined 65% since 2000 peak due to treatment scale-up
- Hepatitis B vaccination among PLHIV reached 10% coverage in 2022
- TB preventive therapy for PLHIV: 31% coverage in 2022
- 1.4 million fewer child infections averted by PMTCT since 2010
- Global Fund invested $20 billion in HIV programs since 2002, saving 59 million lives
- PEPFAR supported 20 million on ART, preventing 2.3 million infections in babies
- 300,000 sex workers reached with prevention services annually
- 1.1 million PWID reached with OST or needle programs in 2022
- Safe male circumcision: 25% risk reduction, 30% coverage in priority countries 2022
- HIV vaccine trials ongoing with 50 candidates in pipeline as of 2022
Mortality and Prevention Interpretation
While celebrating the extraordinary progress that has turned the tide—evidenced by millions of lives saved and infections averted—these sobering figures on preventable deaths, vulnerable children, and persistent coverage gaps remind us that the epidemic’s end still lies stubbornly over the horizon, waiting for us to close the final mile.
Prevalence and Incidence
- In 2022, an estimated 39.0 million people were living with HIV worldwide, with 1.3 million newly infected
- The global HIV prevalence rate among adults aged 15-49 was 0.7% in 2022
- Between 2010 and 2022, new HIV infections declined by 59% globally from 2.1 million to 1.3 million
- In 2022, 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses worldwide
- Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 65% of global HIV infections in 2022 with 25.6 million people living with HIV
- Global HIV incidence rate fell by 22% among adults aged 15-49 from 2010 to 2022
- In 2022, 1.5 million adolescents aged 10-19 were living with HIV globally
- The number of people living with HIV increased by 32% from 30.7 million in 2010 to 39.9 million in 2021 globally
- Eastern Europe and Central Asia saw a 25% increase in new HIV infections from 2020 to 2022
- In 2022, key populations including gay men, sex workers, transgender people, people who inject drugs, and prisoners accounted for 47% of new HIV infections globally
- Global AIDS-related deaths decreased by 69% since the peak in 2004 when 2.0 million people died
- In 2022, 86% of people living with HIV knew their status globally
- New HIV infections in Western and Central Europe and North America declined by 12% from 2020 to 2022
- Latin America had 2.0 million people living with HIV in 2022, representing 5% of the global total
- In 2022, 38.4 million adults aged 15+ were living with HIV globally
- The Caribbean region's HIV prevalence among adults 15-49 was 0.7% in 2022
- Global HIV epidemic showed 1.3 million new infections in 2022, with 160,000 among children aged 0-14
- Middle East and North Africa had 330,000 people living with HIV in 2022, up 9% from 2020
- In 2022, 9.2 million people living with HIV were women globally
- Asia and Pacific region accounted for 6.7 million people living with HIV in 2022
- New HIV infections declined by 43% in Eastern and Southern Africa from 2010 to 2022
- In 2022, 1.51 million people aged 50+ were newly infected with HIV globally
- Global HIV testing coverage reached 86% among people living with HIV in 2022
- Western and Central Africa had 5.1 million people living with HIV in 2022
- In 2022, key population size estimates indicated 250 million sex workers globally at risk
- Global AIDS-related deaths in children 0-14 were 90,000 in 2022
- New infections among young women aged 15-24 declined by 47% in Eastern and Southern Africa since 2010
- In 2022, 39 million total PLHIV, with 53% in Eastern and Southern Africa
- HIV incidence among adults 15-49 was highest in Eswatini at 4.5% in 2022
Prevalence and Incidence Interpretation
The global fight against HIV presents a sobering paradox: while medical progress has dramatically turned infections from a death sentence into a manageable condition, allowing the number of people living with HIV to swell to 39 million, our enduring failures in equity and prevention are laid bare by the stark reality that nearly half of all new infections still occur among marginalized key populations.
Regional Variations
- Eastern and Southern Africa holds 53% of global women living with HIV in 2022
- In 2022, Western and Central Africa had HIV prevalence of 1.5% among adults 15-49
- Latin America saw 120,000 new HIV infections in 2022
- Asia and Pacific: 6.7 million PLHIV, with 270,000 new infections in 2022
- Middle East and North Africa new HIV infections increased 30% from 2010-2022
- In 2022, Eastern Europe and Central Asia had 1.8 million PLHIV, up 8% from 2020
- Caribbean adult HIV prevalence 0.7% in 2022, with 330,000 PLHIV
- Western and Central Europe/North America: 2.2 million PLHIV in 2022
- Eswatini had highest adult HIV prevalence at 14.5% in 2022 globally
- South Africa: 7.8 million PLHIV, 19% of global total in 2022
- Nigeria had 1.9 million PLHIV in 2022, second highest nationally
- Mozambique adult prevalence 9.1% in 2022
- Brazil: 1.0 million PLHIV in 2022, largest in Latin America
- Russia: 1.4 million PLHIV in 2022, driving Eastern Europe rise
- India: 2.5 million PLHIV in 2022, highest in Asia
- Ukraine saw 25,000 new HIV infections in 2022 amid conflict
- Botswana adult HIV prevalence declined to 20.8% in 2022 from 25.4% in 2013
- Kenya: 1.5 million PLHIV, with 110,000 new infections in 2022
- Indonesia: 640,000 PLHIV in 2022, rising fast in Asia
- Lesotho prevalence 11.8% among adults 15-49 in 2022
- Tanzania: 1.7 million PLHIV in 2022
- Zambia prevalence 10.6% in 2022
- Ethiopia: 690,000 PLHIV, 51,000 new infections 2022
- Namibia prevalence 11.0% adults 2022
- Zimbabwe: 1.3 million PLHIV in 2022
- Malawi prevalence 8.9% in 2022
- Uganda: 1.4 million PLHIV, 51,000 new infections 2022
- Angola: 350,000 PLHIV in 2022
- DR Congo: 530,000 PLHIV, rising region
Regional Variations Interpretation
While the global HIV fight shows pockets of progress, the starkly uneven burden—with over half of all women living with HIV in Eastern and Southern Africa and nations like Eswatini carrying a 14.5% prevalence—paints a sobering picture of a world where geography and gender remain devastatingly predictive of health outcomes.
Treatment and ART
- In 2022, 29.8 million people living with HIV were accessing antiretroviral therapy globally
- Global ART coverage reached 76% among adults and 63% among children in 2022
- 25.6 million people on ART in Eastern and Southern Africa in 2022
- Viral suppression among people on ART was 72% globally in 2022 (95-95-95 targets)
- In 2022, 5.5 million children living with HIV needed ART but only 63% accessed it
- Dolutegravir-based regimens used by 75% of people on first-line ART globally in 2022
- ART prevented 21.5 million AIDS-related deaths globally since 2000
- In low- and middle-income countries, 76% of diagnosed PLHIV on ART in 2022
- Paediatric ART coverage gap: 37% of 1.4 million children untreated in 2022
- Global first 95% target met: 86% diagnosed, but only 76% on treatment
- In sub-Saharan Africa, 82% of PLHIV on ART in 2022
- Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) used by 1.3 million people globally in 2022
- Treatment as prevention averted 5.5 million new infections since 2010
- Viral load testing coverage: 70% of people on ART in 2022 LMICs
- 82% suppression rate among adults on ART globally in 2022
- In 2022, 7.4 million more people on ART than in 2015 globally
- Children ART coverage improved to 63% in 2022 from 38% in 2016
- Eastern Europe ART coverage only 57% in 2022
- PrEP initiations reached 2 million cumulatively by 2022
- Global target: 34 million on ART by 2025, with 29.8 million in 2022
- Women on ART: 15.1 million in 2022, 82% diagnosed on treatment
- TB/HIV co-infection treatment: 89% of notified TB/HIV cases on ART in 2022
- Dolutegravir rollout: 80% of low-income countries using as preferred in 2022
- 95-95-95 progress: globally 86-76-72 in 2022
- Latin America ART coverage 76% in 2022
- Asia-Pacific: 58% ART coverage among diagnosed in 2022
- Western/Central Africa: 73% on ART in 2022
- Condom use prevented 120 million new infections since 1990
- Voluntary medical male circumcision averted 3.1 million infections in 15 countries by 2022
- Mother-to-child transmission declined to 5.5% with ART in 2022 LMICs
Treatment and ART Interpretation
While we've impressively turned a global pandemic into a manageable condition for millions and averted tens of millions of deaths, our progress remains a lopsided victory lap, with children, entire regions, and the final crucial steps of treatment too often left struggling to cross the finish line.