New HIV Infections Rate

Four countries tie for lowest HIV infection rates while Southern Africa dominates the highest ranks.

World Health OrganizationUpdated Mar '25

Summary

Healthiest 5 Countries by HIV Infections

1Bangladesh
0.01 /1k
1Jordan
0.01 /1k
1Syria
0.01 /1k
1Vanuatu
0.01 /1k
5Yemen
0.1 /1k
Dataset Median
0.11 /1k

Worst 5 Countries by HIV Infections

139Botswana
1.8 /1k
140Lesotho
1.9 /1k
141Mozambique
2.9 /1k
142South Africa
3.1 /1k
143Eswatini
4.2 /1k
+2

Leader

4

Four countries tie for best rates

Gap

420x

Massive gap between best and worst

Cluster

11

Eleven nations cluster at 0.1 rate

Data

143 results

1Bangladesh(2024)0.01 /1k
1Jordan(2024)0.01 /1k
1Syria(2024)0.01 /1k
1Vanuatu(2024)0.01 /1k
5Afghanistan(2024)0.1 /1k
5Albania(2024)0.1 /1k
5Algeria(2024)0.1 /1k
5Australia(2022)0.1 /1k
5Azerbaijan(2024)0.1 /1k
5Bahrain(2024)0.1 /1k

Map

New HIV Infections Rate

4.2 /1k
0.01 /1k

Insights

Generated automatically using AI
+2

Leader

4

Bangladesh, Jordan, Syria, and Vanuatu all achieve rock-bottom infection rates

Gap

420x

Eswatini has 420 times higher infection rate than the four best performers

Cluster

11

Eleven countries share ultra-low HIV rates at just 0.1 per 1000 people

Trailing

9 of 10

Southern Africa claims 9 of the 10 worst HIV infection rates worldwide

Outlier

0.01%

Syria achieves lowest rates despite ongoing conflict and health system collapse

Methodology

What this measures: The rate of new HIV infections per 1,000 people in the population. Lower values indicate fewer new HIV cases relative to population size.

How the ranking is computed: Countries are ranked from lowest to highest infection rates, with lower rates ranking better since they represent better public health outcomes.

Coverage: 194 countries with data spanning from 1990 to 2024.

Limitations:

  • HIV surveillance systems vary significantly between countries, affecting data quality and comparability
  • Some countries may have incomplete reporting or underestimate infections due to stigma or limited testing infrastructure
  • Detection rates depend on testing availability and healthcare access, which varies by country
  • Lower infection rates may reflect measurement gaps rather than actual disease prevalence
  • Rankings do not account for differences in prevention programs, risk factors, or demographic structures between countries

Source

World Health Organization - New HIV Infections Rate