USA HIV & AIDS Statistics by Race/Ethnicity

America's black and Hispanic communities have been disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS. In total, more AIDS cases have been diagnosed among black people than among whites.

During 2006, 49% of all new HIV diagnoses and 49% of new AIDS diagnoses were in black people. In recent years the numbers of HIV diagnoses have remained relatively stable in most ethnic groups, apart from an increase among Asians/Pacific Islanders.

Male-to-male sexual contact probably caused the majority (66%) of infections in white people living with AIDS. An additional 13% of white people were exposed through injection drug use, 11% through high-risk heterosexual contact and 8% through both male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use. Among black people living with AIDS, male-to-male sexual contact, high-risk heterosexual contact and injection drug use each account for around 30% of infections.

Estimated HIV diagnoses by race/ethnicity and year (33 states only)

Race/ethnicity	Year of diagnosis
Race/ethnicity	2003	2004	2005	2006
White, not Hispanic	10,033	10,181	10,528	10,758
Black, not Hispanic	17,668	16,718	16,629	17,356
Hispanic	6,355	6,010	6,217	6,481
Asian/Pacific Islander	338	339	373	397
American Indian/Alaska Native	179	171	182	166

Estimated AIDS diagnoses by race/ethnicity and year (50 states and D.C.)

Race/ethnicity	Year of diagnosis				All years
Race/ethnicity	2003	2004	2005	2006	All years
White, not Hispanic	10,948	11,066	10,676	10,929	394,024
Black, not Hispanic	19,512	18,909	18,081	17,960	409,982
Hispanic	7,102	6,771	6,823	6,907	161,505
Asian/Pacific Islander	450	444	450	519	7,951
American Indian/Alaska Native	176	182	170	155	3,345

Estimated adult and adolescent males living with AIDS by race/ethnicity and exposure category, all years to the end of 2006 (50 states and D.C.)

Race/ethnicity	Exposure category					Total*
Race/ethnicity	Male-to-male sexual contact	Injection drug use	Male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use	High-risk heterosexual contact	Other	Total*
White, not Hispanic	101,299	13,168	12,393	6,081	1,743	134,683
Black, not Hispanic	57,520	33,911	10,121	24,205	1,602	127,359
Hispanic	36,087	14,795	4,352	7,816	574	63,623
Asian/Pacific Islander	2,715	325	198	444	69	3,752
American Indian/Alaska Native	704	201	220	105	16	1,246
Total	199,693	62,998	27,523	39,004	4,026	333,244

* Because totals are calculated independently of the subpopulations, the values in each column may not sum exactly to the figure in the "Total" column

Estimated adult and adolescent females living with AIDS by race/ethnicity and exposure category, all years to the end of 2006 (50 states and D.C.)

Race/ethnicity	Exposure category			Total*
Race/ethnicity	Injection drug use	High-risk heterosexual contact	Other	Total*
White, not Hispanic	7,407	11,350	508	19,264
Black, not Hispanic	18,531	41,741	1,456	61,728
Hispanic	5,025	11,092	413	16,531
Asian/Pacific Islander	115	588	51	753
American Indian/Alaska Native	153	227	13	393
Total	31,575	65,631	2,465	99,671

* Because totals are calculated independently of the subpopulations, the values in each column may not sum exactly to the figure in the "Total" column

Notes

The latest statistics on AIDS & HIV in the USA were published in March 2008 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The next data are due November 2008.

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. Moreover, this delay may differ among different categories of people. For this reason the CDC estimates the number of diagnoses, deaths and people living with HIV or AIDS by adjusting for reporting delays, taking into account the differences between categories. The CDC also redistributes cases into exposure categories if none was initially reported. No adjustment is made for incomplete reporting. On this page, all numbers are CDC estimates.

On this page "adults and adolescents" are defined as persons aged 13 years or more. The term "exposure category" refers to the most probable route of transmission of HIV infection. The term "male-to-male sexual contact" includes gay men, bisexual men and some men who consider themselves to be neither gay nor bisexual. The "high-risk heterosexual contact" category comprises persons who report specific heterosexual contact with a person with, or at high risk for, HIV infection (e.g., an injection drug user). This does not include adults and adolescents born in, or who had sex with someone born in, a country where heterosexual transmission was believed to be the main mode of HIV transmission, unless they meet the criteria stated in the previous sentence.

The HIV statistics presented on this page include only the 33 states with a history of confidential name-based HIV reporting, as listed in our USA AIDS Statistics Summary. The AIDS statistics include all 50 states of the USA and the District of Columbia.