Europe

Although in Western Europe the prevalence of HIV is relatively stable compared to high-prevalence area of the world, overall numbers of people living with HIV and new diagnoses continue to increase year on year. In 2010, over 118,00 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in the whole of Europe and over 27,000 of these were in the European Union or European Economic Area. In the 50 countries that have consistently reported HIV figures, the rate of newly diagnosed cases of HIV has increased by 18% between 2004 and 2010.

In the EU/EEA, the predominant mode of transmission for HIV infection is sex between men, followed by heterosexual contact. Around one third of the cases reported to be heterosexually acquired were diagnosed in people from countries with generalised HIV epidemics. In Eastern Europe most new infections are amongst injecting drug users, and in Central Europe, heterosexual sex is believed to be the major mode of transmission. The highest rates of HIV are in Eastern Europe.

Among the countries consistently reporting AIDS cases, the overall number of reported AIDS diagnoses declined from 9,988 to 7,093. However, Eastern Europe bucked this trend with increasing numbers of AIDS diagnoses reported in 11 of 15 countries there.

There are though to be around 840,000 people living with HIV in Western and Central Europe, rising to over 2 million including Eastern Europe.

Statistics

• HIV infection rates were nearly five times higher in Eastern Europe at 31.7 cases per 100,000 population than in Western Europe
• 12% of those newly diagnosed were between 15 and 24 year olds, up from 10% in 2008
• 20% of new diagnoses were reported among men who have sex with men at 11,001 cases
• 23% of new diagnoses were diagnosed in intravenous drug users at 12,779 cases
• 43% of new diagnoses were reported as due to heterosexual transmission at 24,080 cases

The UK had more new diagnoses than any other country in Western Europe or the EU/EAA in 2010. However the rate of increase in the UK has remained relatively stable compared to countries like Spain and Italy which have had significant rate increases since 2004. France and Spain both have around double the prevalence of HIV in the population than the UK which may be due to the UK's early national AIDS prevention campaigns.