December 2000

National Institutes of Health
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

HIV / AIDS
Worldwide Statistics

· As of the end of 2000, an estimated 36.0 million people worldwide - 34.7 million adults and 1.4 million children younger than 15 years - were living with HIV/AIDS. More than 70 percent of these people (25.3 million) live in Sub-Saharan Africa; another 16 percent (5.8 million) live in South and Southeast Asia.(1)

· Worldwide, approximately one in every 100 adults aged 15 to 49 is HIV-infected. In Sub-Saharan Africa, about 8.8 percent of all adults in this age group are HIV-infected. In 16 African countries, the prevalence of HIV infection among adults aged 15 to 49 exceeds 10 percent.(1,2)

· Approximately 47 percent of the 36.1 million adults living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are women. (1)

· An estimated 5.3 million new HIV infections occurred worldwide during 2000; that is, about 15,000 infections each day. More than 95 percent of these new infections occurred in developing countries. (1)

· In 2000, more than 6,500 young people aged 15 to 24 became infected with HIV every day - that is, about five every minute. (1)

· Through 2000, cumulative HIV/AIDS-associated deaths worldwide numbered approximately 21.8 million - 17.5 million adults and 4.3 million children younger than 15 years. (1)

· In 2000 alone, HIV/AIDS-associated illnesses caused the deaths of approximately 3 million people worldwide, including an estimated 500,000 children younger than 15 years. (1)

· An estimated 13.2 million children younger than age 15 had lost their mothers or both parents by the end of 1999. (2)

· Worldwide, more than 80 percent of all adult HIV infections have resulted from heterosexual intercourse. (1,2)

· Mother-to-child (vertical) transmission has accounted for more than 90percent of all HIV infections worldwide in infants and children. (1,2)

HIV / AIDS IN THE UNITED STATES

· The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 822,000 to 900,000 U.S. residents are living with HIV infection, one-third of who are unaware of their infection. (3)

· Approximately 40,000 new HIV infections occurred in the United States in 1998, about 70 percent among men and 30 percent among women. Of these newly; infected people, half are younger than 25 years of age. (4)

· Of new infections among men in the United States, CDC estimates that approximately 60 percent of men were infected through homosexual sex, 25 percent through injection drug use, and 15 percent through heterosexual sex. Of newly infected men, approximately 50 percent are black, 30 percent are white, 20 percent are Hispanic, and a small percentage are members of other racial/ethnic groups. (4)

· Of new infections among women in the United States, DCD estimates that approximately 75 percent of women were infected through heterosexual sex and 25 percent through injection drug use. Of newly infected women, approximately 64 percent are black, 18 percent are white, 18 percent are Hispanic, and a small percentage are members of other racial/ethnic
groups. (4)

· In the United States, 733,374 cases of AIDS have been reported to the CDC as of Dec. 31, 1999. (5)

· The estimated number of new adult/adolescent AIDS cases diagnosed in the United States decreased 18 percent from 1996 to 1997 (from 60,618 to 49,704 cases). From 1997 to 1998 the number of new AIDS cases decreased 12 percent to 43,681 cases. (5)

· The estimated annual number of pediatric AIDS cases in the Untied States has fallen from 949 in 1992 to 228 in 1998. (5)

· From 1985 to 1999, the proportion of all U.S. AIDS cases, which were reported in women, increased from 7 percent to 23 percent. (5)

· The rate of new AIDS cases reported in the United States in 1999 (per 100,000 population) was 66.0 among blacks, 25.6 among Hispanics, 7.6 among whites, 8.8 among American Indians/Alaska Natives, and 3.4 among Asians/Pacific Islanders. (5)

· As of the end of 1998, an estimated 294,424 people in the United States were living with AIDS. (5)

· As of Dec. 31, 1999, 430,441 deaths among people with AIDS had been reported to the CDC. (5) AIDS is now the fifth leading cause of death in the United States among people aged 25 to 44, behind unintentional injuries, cancer, heart disease and suicide.

For Urgent Inquiries:
1-800-299-AIDS
Texas AIDS Hotline
( 800 ) 299 - 2437