This is the result of both the continued large number of new HIV infections and a significant expansion of access to antiretroviral therapy, which has helped reduce AIDS-related deaths, especially in the last few years. At least part of the large number of new infections is due to increased access to testing. There are 6.6 million people now receiving treatment in lower income countries, just under half those who require treatment in those countries.

New HIV Infections and AIDS-related deaths

There were 2.7 million new HIV infections in 2010, 15% less than in 2001, and 21% below the number of new infections at the peak of the epidemic in 1997. The number of people becoming infected with HIV is continuing to fall generally but more rapidly in some countries than in others. HIV rates have fallen in 33 countries, 22 of them in sub-Saharan Africa, the world region most affected by the AIDS epidemic.

The number of AIDS-related deaths fell to 1.8 million in 2010, down 21% from a peak of 2.2 million in 2005. A total of 2.5 million deaths have been averted in lower-income countries since 1995 with the introduction of antiretroviral therapy.

Where you live makes a difference

The number of people with HIV has risen in every region of the world in the past decade, with the highest concentration of the pandemic still in Africa but with the largest increases in new diagnoses being seen in East Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In terms of overall prevalence, around 5% of all people in sub-Saharan Africa have HIV and by comparison, the second highest prevalence area, the Caribbean, only has 0.9% prevalence.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa still remains the region most heavily affected by HIV. In 2010, about 68% of all people living with HIV resided in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with only 12% of the global population. Sub-Saharan Africa also accounted for 70% of new HIV infections in 2010, although there was a significant fall in the rate of new infections. The epidemic continues to be most severe in southern Africa, with South Africa having more people living with HIV (an estimated 5.6 million) than any other country in the world.

The total number of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa has dropped by more than 26%, down to 1.9 million from the estimated 2.6 million at the height of the epidemic in 1997.

Almost half of the deaths from AIDS-related illnesses in 2010 occurred in southern Africa. AIDS has claimed at least one million lives annually in sub-Saharan Africa since 1998. However, since then, AIDS-related deaths have steadily decreased, as free HIV treatment has become more widely available in the region.

Eastern Europe and Central Asia

The largest increases in HIV rates in the last decade have been seen in Eastern Europe and Central Asia with a 250% increase in people living with HIV between 2001 to 2010. Russia and the Ukraine make up almost 90% of the region's epidemic with injecting drug use the leading cause of HIV infection. In contrast to other regions, AIDS related deaths continue to rise in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

North America, and Western and Central Europe

The total number of people living with HIV in North America and Western and Central Europe reached an estimated 2.2 million in 2010, about one third more than in 2001. Around 1.2 million people with HIV live in the United States of America, more than half of the total for these regions.

Despite universal access to treatment, care and support and widespread awareness, the epidemic in North America and Western and Central Europe is persistent and HIV incidence has changed little since 2004. However, the number of AIDS-related deaths has varied little since 2000, despite the 34% increase in the number of people living with HIV.

Women and children

Whilst HIV in Western Europe and the UK disproportionately affects gay men, across the globe women are often just as vulnerable to HIV. Half (50%) of all the people living with HIV worldwide in 2010 were women and in sub-Saharan Africa this proportion rises to 59%. In some countries, particularly in Africa, HIV prevalence amongst women is estimated to be twice that amongst men. Initiatives to prevent violence against women, improve women’s rights and increase access to contraception will all be essential in tackling the female HIV epidemic.

The number of new HIV diagnoses in children in 2010 reached 390,000 and the estimated number of children living with HIV increased to over 3 million. The number of orphans due to AIDS appears to have peaked at over 14 million children. The number of deaths related to AIDS in children peaked in 2004-5 and is now slowly declining.