DECEMBER 22, 2013
Top 10 Countries with Highest
HIV Aids Rate
|
NEXT »
According to Top 10 List these are the top 10
countries affected the most by HIV.
As of 2013, there are approximately 44 million
people infected by the HIV virus and epidemic.
Africa has the highest number given its high
poverty rates, little access to health care and its
under developing position in the world. Many
countries also lack the number of institutions
which monitor the spread of HIV. Here is the
list of top 10 countries with the most infected
by the HIV virus.
10- Swaziland
In Swaziland, a small landlocked country in
Southern Africa, one in four adults are living
with HIV. Since the first cases of AIDS were
reported in the country in 1986, the virus has
spread at an alarming rate and now Swaziland
has the highest HIV prevalence in the world at
26 percent. Women have been particularly
affected by the epidemic, accounting for 62
percent of new infections in 2011; among the
population aged 15 and older HIV prevalence is
15.3 percent among women, compared to 6.3
percent among men.
HIV and AIDS have had a devastating impact on
the country; particularly among families and
households, with 6,813 adult and child AIDS-
related deaths in 2011. According to 2011
figures, life expectancy is just 48.7 years – one
of the lowest in the world. HIV and AIDS has
resulted in a number of children becoming
orphaned or vulnerab.
9- United States
CDC estimates that 1,148,200 persons aged 13
years and older are living with HIV infection,
including 207,600 (18.1%) who are unaware of
their infection.1 Over the past decade, the
number of people living with HIV has increased,
while the annual number of new HIV infections
has remained relatively stable. Still, the pace of
new infections continues at far too high a level
— particularly among certain groups.
HIV Incidence (new infections): The estimated
incidence of HIV has remained stable overall in
recent years, at about 50,000 new HIV infections
per year.2Within the overall estimates,
however, some groups are affected more than
others. MSM continue to bear the greatest
burden of HIV infection, and among races/
ethnicities, African Americans continue to be
disproportionately affected.
8- Uganda
Currently, 7.2 percent of Uganda’s population is
living with HIV. This amounts to an estimated
1.4 million people, which includes 190,000
children. An estimated 62,000 people died from
AIDS in 2011 and 1.1 million children have
been orphaned by Uganda’s devastating
epidemic.
More people are becoming infected with HIV in
Uganda; HIV prevalence has been rising since its
lowest rate of 6.4 percent in 2006. New
infections are diagnosed in 150,000 people a
year, of whom 20,600 are children. Despite this,
the 2012 life expectancy of 55 years is nine
years higher than the expectancy in 2000, likely
to be a result of greater access to treatment for
people living with HIV.
7- Zimbabwe
Recent estimates from the Joint United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) indicate that
approximately 1.6 million adults 15 years and
older were living with HIV/AIDS in 2005.
Despite the severity of the epidemic, prevalence
rates in Zimbabwe have begun to show signs of
decline, from 22.1 percent prevalence among
adults ages 15 to 19 in 2003 to 20.1 percent
prevalence in the same age group in 2005. Dr.
Peter Piot, head of UNAIDS, said that in
Zimbabwe, “The declines in HIV rates have
been due to changes in behaviour, including
increased use of condoms, people delaying the
first time they have sexual intercourse, and
people having fewer sexual partners.”
Zimbabwe has a generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic
with HIV transmitted primarily through
heterosexual contact and mother-to-child
transmission. High risk groups, including
migrant laborers, people in prostitution, girls
involved in intergenerational sexual
relationships, discordant couples, and members
of the uniformed services warrant special
attention in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Young
adults and women are hardest hit by the
epidemic. In 2005, approximately 930,000
women over the age of 14 were estimated to be
living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe.
6- Tanzania
Tanzania faces a mature, generalized HIV
epidemic. In 2011, an estimated 1.6 million
Tanzanians were living with HIV/AIDS, with 1.3
million being age 15 or older. Based on 2011
data, AIDS has resulted in an estimated 1.3
million orphaned children.
The Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS)
and the Zanzibar AIDS Commission authorized
the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics to
conduct the Tanzania HIV/AIDS and Malaria
Indicator Survey 2011-12. The survey was
conducted in collaboration with the Office of
the Chief Government Statistician (Zanzibar)
and was funded by the United States Agency for
International Development, TACAIDS, and the
Tanzania Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
ICF International provided technical assistance
during the survey.
5- Mozambique
Mozambique is facing a severe, generalized HIV/
AIDS epidemic, but the impact is not uniformly
distributed. In 2005, the prevalence of HIV
infection among adults ages 15 to 49 was
estimated to be 16.1 percent. The primary mode
of transmission is through heterosexual contact,
with women at much greater risk for HIV
infection than men. Young women ages 15 to 24
have an estimated HIV prevalence of 10.7
percent, compared to a prevalence rate of 3.6
percent among young men in the same age
group.
A civil war restricted movement within and
outside the country until 1992, but returning
refugees, as well as economic and commercial
activity since then has rapidly fueled HIV
prevalence to levels nearly as high as those in
neighboring countries. Other populations with
high HIV prevalence rates include mobile
populations, people in prostitution, and those
living close to major transportation routes.1
Mozambique also suffers co-epidemics of
tuberculosis and malaria in addition to seasonal
cholera outbreaks, all of which exacerbate the
impact of HIV/AIDS.
4- Kenya
For the last two decadesHIV/AIDs has been the
top killer virus in Kenya and even though the
prevalence rate has seen a reduction in the
recent past, there is a need for agressive
campaign to turn the HIV/AIDs statistics
around.
What stands out with Kenya’s HIV/AIDs
infection statistics is its distribution; more than
70% of those infected with the virus live in
rural areas. Only 30% live in urban areas.
Studies have shown that higher prevalence
rates in rural areas are less likely to be
controlled because conservative values often
come in the way of sex education and
preventive measures like the use of condom. It
is surprising that Kenyan parents are still very
uncomfortable to talk to their children about
the use of condoms and this has played a big
role in the statistics below.
3- India
India has a population of one billion, around
half of whom are adults in the sexually active
age group. The first AIDS case in India was
detected in 1986 and since then HIV infection
has been reported in all states and union
territories.
The spread of HIV in India has been uneven.
Although much of India has a low rate of
infection, certain places have been more
affected than others. HIV epidemics are more
severe in the southern half of the country and
the far north-east. The highest estimated adult
HIV prevalence is found in Manipur (1.40%),
followed by Andhra Pradesh (0.90%), Mizoram
(0.81%), Nagaland (0.78%), Karnataka (0.63%)
and Maharashtra (0.55%).
In the southern states, HIV is primarily spread
through heterosexual contact. Infections in the
north-east are mainly found amongst injecting
drug users (IDUs) and sex workers.
2- Nigeria
In Nigeria, the HIV prevalence rate among
adults ages 15–49 is 0.9 percent. Nigeria has the
second-largest number of people living with
HIV. The HIV epidemic in Nigeria is complex
and varies widely by region. In some states, the
epidemic is more concentrated and driven by
high-risk behaviors, while other states have
more generalized epidemics that are sustained
primarily by multiple sexual partnerships in the
general population.
Youth and young adults in Nigeria are
particularly vulnerable to HIV, with young
women at higher risk than young men. There
are many risk factors that contribute to the
spread of HIV, including prostitution, high-risk
practices among itinerant workers, high
prevalence of sexually transmitted infections
(STI), clandestine high-risk heterosexual and
homosexual practices, international trafficking
of women, and irregular blood screening.
1- South Africa
The statistics discussed here come from two
prevalence studies that estimate how many
people are living with HIV in South Africa, and
two reports on AIDS deaths. Viewed together
these sources give an idea of the scale of South
Africa’s HIV epidemic.
The first section of this page is based upon data
from the Department of Health’s ‘National
Antenatal Sentinel HIV and Syphilis Prevalence
Survey in South Africa, 2010′, published in
2011. This annual study looks at data from
antenatal clinics and uses it to estimate HIV
prevalence amongst pregnant women.
The second section is based on the ‘South
African National HIV Prevalence, HIV Incidence,
Behaviour and Communication Survey, 2008′. In
this survey, a sample of people were chosen to
represent the general population. Of those who
were eligible, 64% agreed to give a blood sample
to be anonymously tested for HIV. The report
contains estimates of HIV prevalence in various
groups of people, derived from this general
population sample.