Orphans 0-17 years currently living by country
AIDS orphans are the estimated number of children who have lost their mother or both parents to AIDS before age 17 since the epidemic began in 1990. Some of the orphaned children included in this cumulative total are no longer alive; others are no longer under age 17.
What the numbers show
Orphans 0-17 years currently living is currently reported for 39 countries. The highest value is 2.50 million in Nigeria; the lowest is 1,000 in Mauritius.
The median across all reporting countries is 93,000, and the mean is 352,544.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2,500.
Over the past decade 38 countries rose and 1 fell. The largest increase was in Sierra Leone (up 1,400.0%), and the largest decrease in Rwanda (down 13.3%).
Orphans 0-17 years currently living: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | 2.50 million | 2009 | up 184.1% | volatile |
| 2 | South Africa | 1.90 million | 2009 | up 533.3% | volatile |
| 3 | Tanzania | 1.30 million | 2009 | up 100.0% | volatile |
| 4 | Uganda | 1.20 million | 2009 | up 27.7% | rising |
| 4 | Kenya | 1.20 million | 2009 | up 103.4% | volatile |
| 6 | Zimbabwe | 1.00 million | 2009 | up 72.4% | volatile |
| 7 | Zambia | 690,000 | 2009 | up 40.8% | rising |
| 8 | Mozambique | 670,000 | 2009 | up 378.6% | volatile |
| 9 | Malawi | 650,000 | 2009 | up 97.0% | volatile |
| 10 | Cote d'Ivoire | 440,000 | 2009 | up 131.6% | volatile |
| 11 | Cameroon | 330,000 | 2009 | up 334.2% | volatile |
| 12 | Burundi | 200,000 | 2009 | up 100.0% | volatile |
| 13 | Ghana | 160,000 | 2009 | up 344.4% | volatile |
| 14 | Angola | 140,000 | 2009 | up 218.2% | volatile |
| 14 | Burkina Faso | 140,000 | 2009 | up 16.7% | rising |
| 14 | Central African Republic | 140,000 | 2009 | up 145.6% | volatile |
| 17 | Lesotho | 130,000 | 2009 | up 381.5% | volatile |
| 17 | Rwanda | 130,000 | 2009 | down 13.3% | rising |
| 19 | Chad | 120,000 | 2009 | up 233.3% | volatile |
| 20 | Botswana | 93,000 | 2009 | up 158.3% | volatile |
| 21 | Namibia | 70,000 | 2009 | up 288.9% | volatile |
| 22 | Eswatini | 69,000 | 2009 | up 305.9% | volatile |
| 23 | Togo | 66,000 | 2009 | up 371.4% | volatile |
| 24 | Guinea | 59,000 | 2009 | up 90.3% | volatile |
| 24 | Mali | 59,000 | 2009 | up 156.5% | volatile |
| 26 | Niger | 57,000 | 2009 | up 500.0% | volatile |
| 27 | Liberia | 52,000 | 2009 | up 372.7% | volatile |
| 28 | Congo | 51,000 | 2009 | up 13.3% | rising |
| 29 | Benin | 30,000 | 2009 | up 257.1% | volatile |
| 30 | Eritrea | 19,000 | 2009 | up 239.3% | volatile |
| 30 | Senegal | 19,000 | 2009 | up 211.5% | volatile |
| 32 | Gabon | 18,000 | 2009 | up 300.0% | volatile |
| 33 | Sierra Leone | 15,000 | 2009 | up 1,400.0% | volatile |
| 34 | Madagascar | 11,000 | 2009 | up 19.6% | rising |
| 35 | Guinea-Bissau | 9,700 | 2009 | up 470.6% | volatile |
| 36 | Equatorial Guinea | 4,100 | 2009 | up 720.0% | volatile |
| 37 | Mauritania | 3,600 | 2009 | up 227.3% | volatile |
| 38 | Gambia | 2,800 | 2009 | up 180.0% | volatile |
| 39 | Mauritius | 1,000 | 2009 | up 400.0% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Sub-Saharan Africa 13.75 million
- Africa 13.75 million
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 13.75 million
- Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa 11.85 million
- Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa and Nigeria 9.35 million
About this data
AIDS orphans are the estimated number of children who have lost their mother or both parents to AIDS before age 17 since the epidemic began in 1990. Some of the orphaned children included in this cumulative total are no longer alive; others are no longer under age 17.