In 2020, key populations (sex workers and their clients, gay men and other men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, transgender people) and their sexual partners accounted for 65% of HIV infections globally:
- 93% of new HIV infections outside of sub-Saharan Africa.
- 39% of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa.
The risk of acquiring HIV is:
- 35 times higher among people who inject drugs.
- 34 times higher for transgender women.
- 26 times higher for sex workers.
- 25 times higher among gay men and other men who have sex with men.
Women
- Every week, around 5000 young women aged 15–24 years become infected with HIV.
- In sub-Saharan Africa, six in seven new HIV infections among adolescents aged 15–19 years are among girls. Young women aged 15–24 years are twice as likely to be living with HIV than men. Around 4200 adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24 years became infected with HIV every week in 2020.
- More than one third (35%) of women around the world have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence by a non-partner at some time in their lives.
- In some regions, women who have experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence are 1.5 times more likely to acquire HIV than women who have not experienced such violence.
- In sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls accounted for 63% of all new HIV infections in 2020.