SIDA & VIH
European Statistics Summary
As of the end of December 2006 there have been 327,068 reported AIDS diagnoses in Europe. More than half of these people have already died. The 50 countries that have national HIV reporting systems had reported 806,258 HIV diagnoses by the end of 2006.
Because a large proportion of HIV infections, AIDS cases and deaths are never reported, the above figures understate the true extent of the epidemic. In addition, the reliability of reporting systems varies between countries, making comparisons difficult. It is therefore useful to look at estimates based on surveys as well as reported cases.
According to UNAIDS estimates, around 2.2 million people were living with HIV in Europe and Central Asia at the end of 2007. Estimated HIV prevalence (the proportion of adults living with HIV) varies from below 0.1% in parts of Central Europe to above 1% in parts of the former Soviet Union.1
Across the continent, HIV infections through heterosexual contact are increasing steadily and women account for a rising proportion of cases.
Western Europe
A cumulative total of 282,797 HIV infections had been reported in Western Europe by the end of 2007. This considerably understates the true figure because not all HIV infections have been diagnosed or reported. This is partly because many people do not know that they are infected. In addition, the three countries with the most extensive epidemics either do not report from all regions (Italy and Spain) or started reporting only in 2003 (France and Spain). National HIV reporting started at different dates in different countries, without systematic retrospective reporting of infections diagnosed in previous years.
According to UNAIDS estimates, the largest numbers of people living with HIV in Western Europe in 2007 were in Italy (150,000), Spain (140,000) and France (140,000).2
Of the reported 21,769 people diagnosed with HIV in Western Europe in 2007:
- 51% probably acquired HIV through heterosexual contact
- 40% were men who had sex with men
- 8% were injecting drug users
- 31% were female
- 26% were 15 to 29 years old
Heterosexual contact accounts for the largest proportion of new HIV diagnoses in Western Europe. However, due to their smaller percentage of the overall population, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users are at greater risk of becoming infected.
Trends in HIV incidence may be examined in countries that have a history of reporting. For 13 of the 23 countries in the West, HIV reporting data are available at least since 1999. In these countries, the number of newly diagnosed HIV infections rose slowly between 1999 and 2001, before increasing by 29% between 2001 and 2002. Since then it has grown by between 6% and 11% per year. The total for 2006 was nearly twice that for 1999.
The rise in these 13 countries is due to substantial increases in diagnoses among heterosexuals and men who have sex with men. In contrast, the number of cases among injecting drug users has remained more or less stable.
The UK has just recorded its highest ever annual number of diagnoses. More information on the UK is available in AVERT.org's UK statistics summary.
Data on the original country in which infection occurred is available for 15 countries. According to these data, 42% of infections reported in 2007 originated from the country of report, and 21% were acquired in sub-Saharan Africa. Latin America and the Caribbean, and other countries in Western Europe accounted for 4% each. The origin of infection was undetermined for nearly a quarter of cases.
| Western European country | HIV diagnoses in 2007 | Rate per million in 2007 | Cumulative total, end 2007 | Adult HIV prevalence 20073 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andorra† | 2 | 24.3 | 45 | - |
| Austria | (435)** | (53.0)** | (3,705)** | 0.2% |
| Belgium | 1052 | 99 | 19,942 | 0.2% |
| Denmark | 306 | 56 | 5,076 | 0.2% |
| Finland | 187 | 35.4 | 2,263 | 0.1% |
| France†† | 4,075 | 64.1 | 26,331 | 0.4% |
| Germany | 2,752 | 33.5 | 31,403 | 0.1% |
| Greece | 456 | 40.7 | 8,680 | 0.2% |
| Iceland | 13 | 41.8 | 208 | 0.2% |
| Ireland | 362 | 82.9 | 4,412 | 0.2% |
| Israel | 358 | 50.3 | 5,358 | 0.1% |
| Italy‡ | (1,460)* | (74.4)* | (6,322)* | 0.4% |
| Luxembourg | 34 | 70.8 | 818 | 0.2% |
| Malta† | 14 | 34.2 | 81 | 0.1% |
| Monaco | - | - | - | - |
| Netherlands | 1,035 | 63.2 | 14,666 | 0.2% |
| Norway | 248 | 52.7 | 3,787 | 0.1% |
| Portugal | 894 | 84.3 | 28,851 | 0.5% |
| San Marino | 0 |
0 | 57 | - |
| Spain‡‡ | 1057 | 76.4 | 5,785 | 0.5% |
| Sweden | 425 | 46.5 | 8,017 | 0.1% |
| Switzerland | 765 | 101.3 | 30,153 | 0.6% |
| United Kingdom | 7,734 | 126.8 | 94,864 | 0.2% |
| Total | 21,769 | - | 282,797 | 0.3% |
- data not available
* 2005 data
** 2006 data
† Andorra and Malta began reporting in 2004
†† France began reporting in 2003
‡ Italy reports cases from only 10 of its 20 regions/provinces
‡‡ Spain reports cases from only 8 of its regions and data are only available since 2003.
AIDS statistics have been as geographically varied in the West as in Europe as a whole. In 2007, the highest rates of AIDS diagnoses were reported by Portugal (30 per million population) and Spain (20 per million). Each of Spain, France and Italy has reported more than 55,000 AIDS cases since the beginning of the epidemic.
Reported AIDS cases in the West numbered 3,568 in 2007. After falling dramatically in the late 1990s (following the introduction and widespread use of combination antiretroviral treatment), AIDS incidence has declined steadily in recent years. The number of AIDS diagnoses in 2007 was 57% lower than that for 2000.
AIDS mortality has also decreased as antiretroviral therapy has become widely available. Relatively few people died of AIDS in 2007 (936) compared to 2003 (2,733). As new diagnoses outnumber deaths, the number of people living with AIDS continues to rise.
Central Europe
A total of 1,897 HIV infections and an estimated 541 AIDS cases were diagnosed in the Centre in 2007. The number of diagnoses has only slightly increased since 2000
Central Europe has been relatively spared by the epidemic, with the incidence of both AIDS cases and newly diagnosed HIV infections remaining low. However, this region accounts for the largest proportion of paediatric AIDS cases following an outbreak of infection among young children in hospitals in Romania around 1990.
The epidemic appears to affect younger adults with 41% of newly diagnosed people being between 15 and 29 years old. Just over half of new infections were due to heterosexual sex, 30% were attributed to men who have sex with men (MSM), with 13% being due to injecting drug use. Patterns vary, however, with heterosexual sex accounting for the majority of new infections in five countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Macedonia F.Y.R. and Turkey) and msm accounting for the majority in another five countries (Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia and Montenegro).
| Central European country | HIV diagnoses in 2007 | Rate per million in 2007 | Cumulative total, end 2007 | Adult HIV prevalence 20074 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 27 | 8.5 | 171 | <0.2% |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 3 | 0.8 | 147 | <0.1% |
| Bulgaria | 126 | 16.4 | 815 | - |
| Croatia | 47 | 10.6 | 663 | <0.1% |
| Cyprus | 46 | 58.5 | 565 | <0.2% |
| Czech Republic | 122 | 11.8 | 1042 | <0.1% |
| Hungary | 119 | 11.8 | 1485 | 0.1% |
| Macedonia, F.Y.R. | 3 | 1.5 | 22 | <0.1% |
| Montenegro | 10 | 16 | 79 | - |
| Poland | 601 | 15.8 | 11,272 | 0.1% |
| Romania | 158 | 7.3 | 4,211 | 0.1% |
| Serbia | 90 | 12.2 | 2,199 | 0.1% |
| Slovakia | 39 | 7.2 | 224 | <0.1% |
| Slovenia | 36 | 17.8 | 355 | <0.1% |
| Turkey | 299 | 4.3 | 2,273 | <0.2% |
| Total | 1,726 | - | 25,523 | 0.1% |
- data not available
Eastern Europe
According to UNAIDS, around 1.5 million people were living with HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the end of 2007, of whom 940,000 were in Russia and 440,000 in Ukraine.5 This greatly exceeds official totals, as well as the regional figures tabled below which do not include complete data from Russia or Ukraine. The region has the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world with prevalence doubling since 2001. As well as Russia and Ukraine, high prevalence has been recorded in Latvia and Estonia, with high incidence found in Kazakhstan, Belarus and Uzbekistan.
Injecting drug users, sex workers and sexual partners of these groups are most affected by the epidemic. In Russia, where there are as many as 3 million injecting drug users, drug equipment sharing accounts for an estimated 83% of infections where transmission history is known. Prevention initiatives targeting this group are minimal, with needle exchanges scarce, and substitution therapy banned in several countries including Russia.
| Eastern European country | HIV diagnoses in 2007 | Rate per million in 2007 | Cumulative total, end 2007 | Adult HIV prevalence 20076 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armenia | 107 | 33.2 | 538 | 0.1% |
| Azerbaijan | 441 | 51.4 | 1379 | 0.2% |
| Belarus | 990 | 102 | 8,737 | 0.2% |
| Estonia | 633 | 471.8 | 6,364 | 1.3% |
| Georgia | 340 | 77.5 | 1,500 | 0.1% |
| Kazakhstan | - | - | 9,350 | 0.1% |
| Kyrgyzstan | 409 | 76.3 | 1,479 | 0.1% |
| Latvia | 350 | 153.8 | 3,981 | 0.8% |
| Lithuania | 106 | 31.4 | 1,306 | 0.1% |
| Republic of Moldova | 731 | 204.4 | 4,156 | 0.4% |
| Russian Federation | - | - | - | 1.1% |
| Tajikistan | 305 | 45 | 1015 | 0.3% |
| Turkmenistan | 0 | 0 | 2 | <0.1% |
| Ukraine† | - | - | 104,296 | 1.6% |
| Uzbekistan | 3,169 | 114.9 | 13,146 | 0.1% |
| Total | 7,581 | - | 157,249 | 0.8% |
- data not available
More information on this region can be found in the page HIV & AIDS in Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Notes
The latest HIV & AIDS statistics for Europe were published in late 2008 by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe. Prior to 2008 the statistics were published by EuroHIV.
There is often a delay between the time of diagnosis of HIV or AIDS, or the time of death, and the time at which the event is reported. The statistics referred to as estimates on this page have been adjusted for such reporting delays, and are not necessarily official government estimates. No adjustments have been made for incomplete reporting. None of the data in tables have been adjusted.
