India HIV & AIDS Statistics Summary

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; since then HIV infection has been reported in all states and union territories.

The spread of HIV in India has been diverse, with much of India having a low rate of infection and the epidemic being most extreme in the southern half of the country and in the far north-east. The highest HIV prevalence rates are found in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in the south; and Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland in the north-east.¹

Four southern states (Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) account for around 63% of all people living with HIV in India.²

In the southern states, HIV is primarily spread through heterosexual contact, while infections are mainly found amongst injecting drug users and sex workers in the north-east.

Estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS, 2006

Previously it was thought that around 5 million people were living with HIV in India - more than in any other country. Better data, including the results of a national household survey, led to a major revision of the prevalence estimate in July 2007. It is now thought that around 2.5 million people in India are living with HIV.³

Back-calculation suggests that HIV prevalence in India may have declined slightly in recent years, though the epidemic is still growing in some regions and population groups.

HIV statistics, 2005-2006

The National Family Health Survey conducted between 2005 and 2006 measured HIV prevalence among the general adult population of India, as presented in the table below.⁴ The survey found the rate among men to be considerably higher than that among women.

The National Family Health Survey, which tested more than 100,000 people for HIV, also found prevalence to be higher in urban areas (0.35%) than in rural areas (0.25%).

The table below presents HIV prevalence among women attending antenatal clinics. It also shows results from the National Family Health Survey for the six states in which most testing took place.

Some areas report an HIV prevalence rate of zero in antenatal clinics. This does not necessarily mean that there is no HIV in the area, as some of them report the presence of the virus at STD clinics and amongst injecting drug users. In some states and territories the average antenatal HIV prevalence is based on reports from only a small number of clinics.

HIV prevalence among different population groups

The average HIV prevalence among women attending antenatal clinics in India is 0.60%. Much higher rates are found among people attending sexually transmitted disease clinics (3.74%), female sex workers (4.90%), injecting drug users (6.92%) and men who have sex with men (6.41%).

Rates vary widely between regions, and in 2006 were found to exceed 15% among female sex workers in Maharashtra and Nagaland; injecting drug users in Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Manipur and Tamil Nadu; and men who have sex with men in Maharashtra and Nagaland.⁷

AIDS data, end of August 2006⁸

The statistics presented in these tables refer to reported AIDS cases. These are a poor guide to the severity of the epidemic as in many situations a patient will die without HIV having been diagnosed, and with the death attributed to an opportunistic infection, such as tuberculosis.

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