Although HIV prevalence in West and Central Africa is relatively low compared to East and Southern Africa, the region is home to 5 million people living with HIV, of whom 450,000 are children.
East and Southern Africa is the region hardest hit by HIV. It is home to around 6.2% of the world’s population but over half (54%) of the total number of people living with HIV in the world (20.6 million people).
Swaziland has the highest prevalence of HIV in the world. In 2018, 27.3% of adults in Swaziland were living with HIV, 87% of these adults were accessing antiretrovial treatment.
In 2018, 1.6 million people were living with HIV in Tanzania and 72,000 were newly infected. Of the adults living with HIV, 71% were receiving antiretroviral treatment.
It is estimated that 370,000 people live with HIV in Botswana, however universal free antiretroviral treatment means that 85% of adults are receiving treatment.
Nigeria was home to 1.9 million people living with HIV in 2018. It's large population, however, means that this equates to a relatively low prevalence of 1.5% in adults - much lower than many countries in East and Southern Africa.