SIDA & VIH
European HIV and AIDS Statistics
According to UNAIDS estimates, around 2.2 million people were living with HIV in Europe at the end of 2007. Estimated HIV prevalence varies from below 0.1% in parts of Central Europe to above 1% in parts of the former Soviet Union.
The three main tables in this page have been constructed from estimates from the 2008 UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic. Unless stated otherwise, all other data is from the 2007 HIV/AIDS surveillance report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe.
As a large number of HIV infections, AIDS cases, and AIDS deaths are never reported at a national level, the figures from the ECDC/WHO report understate the true extent of the epidemic. In addition, the reliability of reporting systems varies between countries, making comparisons difficult.
Regional summary
As the graph below shows, rates of newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection vary widely between Eastern, Central and Western Europe.
Eastern Europe has seen a steady increase in HIV infections since 2000, which is largely due to an increase in heterosexually acquired infections and infections among injecting drug users.
The graph below shows how the rate of reported AIDS diagnoses in Eastern Europe has also increased in recent years.
The number of AIDS cases per million population has declined slightly in Western and Central Europe. This is largely a result of the widespread availability of antiretroviral drugs in this region. Find out more about HIV and AIDS in Western and Central Europe.
Western Europe
| Western European country | People living with HIV/AIDS 2007 | Adult prevalence % 2007 | Women with HIV/AIDS 2007 | AIDS deaths 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andorra | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Austria | 9,800 | 0.2 | 2,900 | ... |
| Belgium | 15,000 | 0.2 | 4,100 | <100 |
| Denmark | 4,800 | 0.2 | 1,100 | ... |
| Finland | 2,400 | 0.1 | <1,000 | ... |
| France | 140,000 | 0.4 | 38,000 | 1,800 |
| Germany | 53,000 | 0.1 | 15,000 | <500 |
| Greece | 11,000 | 0.2 | 3,000 | <100 |
| Iceland | <500 | 0.2 | <200 | ... |
| Ireland | 5,500 | 0.2 | 1,500 | <100 |
| Israel | 5,100 | 0.1 | 2,900 | <200 |
| Italy | 150,000 | 0.4 | 41,000 | 1,900 |
| Luxembourg | ... | 0.2 | <200 | ... |
| Malta | <500 | 0.1 | ... | ... |
| Monaco | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Netherlands | 18,000 | 0.2 | 4,900 | <200 |
| Norway | 3,000 | 0.1 | <1,000 | ... |
| Portugal | 34,000 | 0.5 | 9,400 | <500 |
| San Marino | ... |
... | ... | ... |
| Spain | 140,000 | 0.5 | 28,000 | 2,300 |
| Sweden | 6,200 | 0.1 | 2,900 | <100 |
| Switzerland | 25,000 | 0.6 | 9,200 | <500 |
| United Kingdom | 77,000 | 0.2 | 22,000 | <500 |
HIV statistics
A cumulative total of 277,970 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.
Of the reported 24,202 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;
- and 26% were 15 to 29 years old.
When looking at diagnoses in the 16 Western countries that have consistently reported data since 2000, the number of cases has increased from 12,720 in 2000 to 17,355 in 2007. This is an increase from 55 HIV diagnoses per million population to 73 per million. Countries with the highest rates in 2007 were Portugal (217/million), the United Kingdom (108.2/million) and Switzerland (102.4/million). Although Italy does not have a national monitoring system for new HIV diagnoses, regional reporting shows HIV incidence to be as high as 145/million in the Province of Rimini.1
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, the Caribbean and other countries in Western Europe accounted for 4% each. The origin was undetermined for nearly a quarter of cases.
AIDS statistics
In 2007 there were 3568 diagnosed cases of AIDS reported in 22 of the countries in the West. The highest rates of AIDS diagnoses were in Portugal (30.2/million), Luxembourg (20.8/million), Spain (19.9/million) and Switzerland (19.7/million).
After falling dramatically in the late 1990s (following the introduction and widespread use of combination antiretroviral treatment), AIDS incidence has declined steadily. 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).
Central Europe
| Central European country | People living with HIV/AIDS 2007 | Adult prevalence % 2007 | Women with HIV/AIDS 2007 | AIDS deaths 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | <500 | <0.1 | ... | ... |
| Bulgaria | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Croatia | <500 | <0.1 | ... | ... |
| Cyprus | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Czech Republic | 1,500 | ... | <500 | ... |
| Hungary | 3,300 | 0.1 | <1,000 | ... |
| Macedonia, F.Y.R. | <500 | <0.1 | ... | ... |
| Montenegro | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Poland | 20,000 | 0.1 | 5,500 | <200 |
| Romania | 15,000 | 0.1 | 7,000 | ... |
| Serbia | 6,400 | 0.1 | 1,800 | <100 |
| Slovakia | <500 | <0.1 | ... | ... |
| Slovenia | <500 | <0.1 | ... | <100 |
| Turkey | ... | ... | ... | ... |
HIV statistics
There were a total of 1,897 HIV diagnoses in Central Europe in 2007, only a slight increase since 2000. Of these diagnoses, 41% were in individuals aged 15 to 29 years old and 24% were female. Of those infections where the transmission route was known:
- 53% were acquired through heterosexual contact (only 2.5% of these were in persons from countries with generalised epidemics);
- 30% were among men who have sex with men;
- and 13% were among injecting drug users.
Patterns vary, however, with heterosexual sex accounting for the majority of new infections in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Macedonia F.Y.R. and Turkey, and men who have sex with men accounting for the majority in Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia and Montenegro.
AIDS statistics
In 2007, 541 cases of AIDS were reported, just over half of those reported in 2000. This decrease reflects the widespread availability of antiretroviral therapy in the region. The highest rates of AIDS cases were reported in Romania (12.1/million), followed by Serbia (5.7/million).
In 2007 there were a reported 271 AIDS deaths in Central Europe, compared to 342 in 2003.
Eastern Europe
| Eastern European country | People living with HIV/AIDS 2007 | Adult prevalence % 2007 | Women with HIV/AIDS 2007 | AIDS deaths 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armenia | 2,400 | 0.1 | <1,000 | <200 |
| Azerbaijan | 7,800 | 0.2 | 1,300 | <100 |
| Belarus | 13,000 | 0.2 | 3,900 | <1,000 |
| Estonia | 9,900 | 1.3 | 2,400 | <500 |
| Georgia | 2,700 | 0.1 | <1,000 | ... |
| Kazakhstan | 12,000 | 0.1 | 3,300 | <500 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 4,200 | 0.1 | 1,100 | ... |
| Latvia | 10,000 | 0.8 | 2,700 | <500 |
| Lithuania | 2,200 | 0.1 | <1,000 | <200 |
| Republic of Moldova | 8,900 | 0.4 | 2,600 | <100 |
| Russian Federation | 940,000 | 1.1 | 240,000 | 35,000 |
| Tajikistan | 10,000 | 0.3 | 2,100 | <100 |
| Turkmenistan | <500 | <0.1 | ... | ... |
| Ukraine | 440,000 | 1.6 | 190,000 | 19,000 |
| Uzbekistan | 16,000 | 0.1 | 4,600 | <500 |
HIV statistics
In 2007 in Eastern Europe there were a reported 22,793 newly diagnosed HIV infections. However, this number does not include figures from the Russian Federation, where 42,770 new HIV cases were reported in 2007.2 The Ukraine has the second highest number of annual infections; in 2007 12,239 were reported. However, these figures do not represent the true extent of the epidemic. UNAIDS estimates that 110,000 people became infected with HIV in 2007, and of the 1.5 million people living with HIV in the region, around 90 percent live in either the Russian Federation (69%) or the Ukraine (29%).
Of the new HIV diagnoses in 2007 (where data on transmission routes were available):
- 57% resulted from injecting drug use;
- 42% were acquired through heterosexual transmission;
- 0.4% were men who had sex with men;
- 40% were aged 15-29 years;
- and 36% were female.
In addition to the Russian Federation and the Ukraine, high rates of HIV are reported in Estonia (471.8/million), the Republic of Moldova (204.4/million), Latvia (148.5/million) and Kazakhstan (126.8/million). Rates of newly diagnosed HIV infections have generally declined in Estonia and Latvia, but in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan rates have significantly increased since 2002.
AIDS statistics
A total of 1,135 AIDS diagnoses were reported in 2007 in Eastern Europe. However, this figure significantly underestimates the actual number, due to reporting delays and incomplete data from a number of countries (including the Russian Federation). In fact, UNAIDS estimated that in 2007, some 58,000 people died of AIDS in this region. Nearly all countries providing data since 2000 have seen an increase in the number of AIDS diagnoses.
