Share of young men and women living with HIV in South Africa
South Africa: Share of young men and women living with HIV was 3.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of young men and women living with HIV in South Africa, 1990–2024
Source: UNAIDS estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % ages 15-24.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 3.8% for share of young men and women living with hiv in 2024.
That represents a change of down 2.6% on the previous year and down 7.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of young men and women living with hiv in South Africa peaked at 6.0% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 1990.
That places South Africa 2nd out of 146 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Share of young men and women living with HIV in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % ages 15-24 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.6% | — |
| 1991 | 1.0% | +66.7% |
| 1992 | 1.5% | +50.0% |
| 1993 | 2.3% | +53.3% |
| 1994 | 3.1% | +34.8% |
| 1995 | 3.9% | +25.8% |
| 1996 | 4.6% | +17.9% |
| 1997 | 5.2% | +13.0% |
| 1998 | 5.7% | +9.6% |
| 1999 | 5.9% | +3.5% |
| 2000 | 6.0% | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 6.0% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 5.8% | -3.3% |
| 2003 | 5.6% | -3.4% |
| 2004 | 5.4% | -3.6% |
| 2005 | 5.1% | -5.6% |
| 2006 | 4.9% | -3.9% |
| 2007 | 4.7% | -4.1% |
| 2008 | 4.5% | -4.3% |
| 2009 | 4.4% | -2.2% |
| 2010 | 4.3% | -2.3% |
| 2011 | 4.2% | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 4.1% | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 4.1% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 4.1% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4.2% | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 4.2% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4.2% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 4.2% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4.2% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4.2% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4.1% | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 4.0% | -2.4% |
| 2023 | 3.9% | -2.5% |
| 2024 | 3.8% | -2.6% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 3.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.1%, 38.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 3.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.3%, 10.9× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of young men and women living with HIV in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +66.7% | 0.6% | 1.0% |
| 1993 | +53.3% | 1.5% | 2.3% |
| 1992 | +50.0% | 1.0% | 1.5% |
| 1994 | +34.8% | 2.3% | 3.1% |
| 1995 | +25.8% | 3.1% | 3.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.4% | 0.6% | 5.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.2% | 4.4% | 6.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.2% | 4.1% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.0% | 3.8% | 4.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More health data for South Africa
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.2 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.1386 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,152 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 3,333 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.5504 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.045 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.0003 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of young men and women living with hiv in South Africa?
- Share of young men and women living with hiv in South Africa was 3.8% in 2024, according to UNAIDS estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of young men and women living with hiv recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 6.0% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of young men and women living with hiv recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 1990.
- How does South Africa rank for share of young men and women living with hiv?
- South Africa ranks 2nd out of 146 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of young men and women living with hiv rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNAIDS estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of young men and women living with HIV. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
In countries that are shown below the grey line the share of women with HIV infections is relatively higher.