HIV sentinel surveillance

This section contains information about HIV prevalence in different populations. The data reported in the tables below are mainly based on the HIV data base maintained by the United States Bureau of the Census where data from different sources, including national reports, scientific publications and international conferences is compiled. To provide for a simple overview of the current situation and trends over time, summary data are given by population group, geographical area (Major Urban Areas versus Outside Major Urban Areas), and year of survey. Studies conducted in the same year are aggregated and the median prevalence rates (in percentages) are given for each of the categories. The maximum and minimum prevalence rates observed, as well as the total number of surveys/sentinel sites, are provided with the median, to give an overview of the diversity of HIV-prevalence results in a given population within the country. Data by sentinel site or specific study on which the medians were calculated are printed at the end of this fact sheet.

The differentiation between the two geographical areas Major Urban Areas and Outside Major Urban Areas is not based on strict criteria, such as the number of inhabitants. For most countries, Major Urban Areas were considered to be the capital city and - where applicable - other metropolitan areas with similar socio-economic patterns. The term Outside Major Urban Areas considers that most sentinel sites are not located in strictly rural areas, even if they are located in somewhat rural districts.

HIV prevalence in selected populations in percent (for blood donors: 1/100 000)