Globally
According to the most recent estimates from the WHO and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 34 million people around the world had HIV in 2010. This figure includes 16.8 million women and 3.4 million children under age 15.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases has more information on HIV/AIDS statistics.
In the United States
The most recent data from the CDC show that 1,178,350 Americans aged 13 and older had HIV in 2008. Of these:
- 294,900 were female
- 68,600 were youths aged 13 to 24
- 479,161 had AIDS the disease, not just the virus; 16,084 of these people died
About 21% of those infected with HIV in the United States are unaware of their infection.1 Young people 13 to 29 years old accounted for 39% of all new HIV infections in the United States in 2009.2 That year, there also were an estimated 11,200 new HIV infections among women in the United States, accounting for 23% of those newly infected with HIV.3
The CDC collects statistics about HIV/AIDS in the United States, including the number of new infections and the number of infections in different groups. Visit the CDC's website for more statistics about HIV/AIDS in the United States.
Among Women, Youth, and Children
Globally, women represent about half of people with HIV, according to the WHO. This proportion is higher in some parts of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, where 60% of those infected are female.
In the United States, women are a quarter of those with HIV, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). However, some American women are at greater risk of HIV infection than others. Black women are more than 16 times more likely than white women to become infected with HIV, for example. Visit the CDC's website for more statistics about HIV/AIDS and women.
In the United States, more than 2,000 teens became infected with HIV in 2009, the most recent year for which there are CDC data. (These data reflect only the 40 states that report new HIV infections.) However, young adults in their early 20s had more new HIV infections than any other age group in the country. Among American youth, gay and bisexual males and black males have especially high rates of HIV infection. Visit the CDC's website for more statistics about HIV and youth.
In 2009, fewer than 200 children under age 13 were newly diagnosed with HIV in the 40 reporting U.S. states, according to the CDC. The rates of HIV infection among infants have dropped dramatically in the United States because anti-HIV drugs are available to block transmission of the virus at birth. In low- and middle-income countries, however, this testing and treatment is not routine and often is not accessible. As a result, 390,000 children around the world became infected with HIV from their mothers in 2010, according to WHO.4
- NIAID. (2011). Quick Facts. Retrieved April 24, 2012 from
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/HIVAIDS/Understanding/Pages/quickFacts.aspx [top]
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). HIV among youth. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/age/youth/ [top]
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). HIV among women. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/women/ [top]
- WHO. (2011). Global HIV/AIDS response: epidemic update and health sector progress towards universal access: progress report 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/9789241502986_eng.pdf (PDF - 3.35 KB), p. 11. [top]