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Number of people affected by HIV/AIDS in India

Previous estimates & projections given up to July'07

The estimates projected until recently were that globally India is leading over South Africa in terms of the overall number of people living with HIV. The United Nations Report on HIV released on Tuesday the 30th of May'06 said the World's second most populous nation has overtaken South Africa as the country with the most people living with HIV virus. India is home to about 5.7 million cases as against about 5.5 million cases infected in South Africa.

  • NACO estimated that the number of Indians living with HIV increased by 500,000 in 2003 to 5.7 million. Around 38 percent of these people were women.

  • By the end of May 2005, the total number of AIDS cases reported in India was 109,349 of whom 31,982 were women. These data also indicated that 37% of reported AIDS cases were diagnosed among people under 30. Many more AIDS cases go unreported.

  • The UN Population Division projects that India's adult HIV prevalence will peak at 1.9% in 2019. The UN estimates there were 2.7 million AIDS deaths in India between 1980 and 2000. During 2000-15, the UN has projected 12.3 million AIDS deaths and 49.5 million deaths during 2015-50.

  • A 2002 report by the CIA's National Intelligence Council predicted 20 million to 25 million AIDS cases in India by 2010, more than any other country in the world.