An estimated 39.9 million people worldwide were living with HIV at the end of 2024, based on data from the World Health Organization and UNAIDS. That number has grown over the decades not because the epidemic is worsening, but largely because effective treatment keeps people alive far longer than before. New infections are declining, deaths are falling, and more people than ever are on treatment.
Global Numbers at a Glance
Of the roughly 39.9 million people living with HIV globally, about 77% were accessing antiretroviral therapy by the end of 2024. That’s a dramatic shift from 2010, when only 24% of people with HIV had access to treatment. The expansion of therapy programs, particularly across sub-Saharan Africa, is the single biggest reason the global picture has improved so much in the past 15 years.
In 2024, approximately 1.3 million people newly acquired HIV. That represents a 40% drop from 2.2 million new infections in 2010 and a 61% decline from the epidemic’s peak in 1995, when new infections were at their highest. Meanwhile, 630,000 people died of HIV-related illnesses in 2024. Both numbers are moving in the right direction, but progress has been uneven across regions and populations.
HIV in the United States
At the end of 2022, the most recent year with available data, an estimated 1.2 million people aged 13 and older were living with HIV in the United States. That figure includes both diagnosed and undiagnosed infections. About 13%, or roughly 158,000 people, were living with HIV without knowing it.
That undiagnosed fraction matters because people who don’t know their status can’t start treatment, and untreated HIV is far more likely to be transmitted to others. It’s also why public health agencies emphasize routine testing: the CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested at least once, with more frequent testing for those at higher risk.
Where the Epidemic Hits Hardest
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most affected region by a wide margin. It accounts for roughly two-thirds of all people living with HIV globally, even though it holds only about 14% of the world’s population. Countries like South Africa, Mozambique, and Nigeria carry especially large shares of the burden. Eastern and southern Africa alone are home to more than 20 million people with HIV.
Outside of Africa, significant epidemics exist in parts of Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Eastern Europe and Central Asia are notable because new infections there have actually been rising, running counter to the global trend. Much of this increase is driven by stigma, criminalization, and limited access to prevention tools like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among the populations most at risk.
How Treatment Changed the Numbers
The reason the total number of people living with HIV keeps climbing even as new infections fall is straightforward: antiretroviral therapy works. People who start treatment early and take it consistently can expect a near-normal lifespan. HIV becomes a manageable chronic condition rather than a fatal one. This is a public health success story, even if the rising total can look alarming at first glance.
Treatment also functions as prevention. When someone with HIV maintains an undetectable viral load through consistent therapy, the virus cannot be sexually transmitted to partners. This concept, often summarized as “undetectable equals untransmittable” (U=U), has been confirmed by large studies involving thousands of couples. It’s one of the most powerful tools for slowing the epidemic, because every person successfully treated is also a person who is no longer passing the virus on.
The remaining challenge is the gap between 77% treatment coverage and 100%. The roughly 9 million people living with HIV who aren’t on therapy face a much higher risk of illness, death, and transmitting the virus. Many live in countries with underfunded health systems or belong to marginalized groups who face legal and social barriers to accessing care.
New Infections Are Declining, but Not Fast Enough
The 1.3 million new infections recorded in 2024 represent real progress, but global targets called for reducing that number to under 500,000 by 2020, a goal that was missed by a wide margin. The populations most affected by new infections include men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers, transgender people, and their sexual partners. In many countries, these groups face criminalization and stigma that make it harder to access testing, condoms, PrEP, and treatment.
Young women in sub-Saharan Africa also remain disproportionately affected. Girls and young women aged 15 to 24 account for a far larger share of new infections than their male peers in the region, driven by gender inequality, limited access to education, and higher biological susceptibility.
What These Numbers Mean in Practice
If you’re looking at these figures to understand your own risk or someone else’s, a few practical points stand out. HIV is preventable with tools that already exist: condoms, PrEP (a daily or on-demand pill for people at risk), and prompt treatment for those who are positive. It is treatable to the point where it no longer shortens life or poses a transmission risk, as long as therapy is taken consistently. And it is still widely undiagnosed, with millions of people globally unaware of their status.
Testing is simple, often free, and available through clinics, community organizations, and at-home kits. Knowing your status is the first step regardless of the outcome, because both prevention and treatment work best when they start early.