Guides

HIV in the UK

  • More than 105,000 people in the UK are HIV positive. Of these, about 6,600 (6%) have not been diagnosed.
  • Over 98% of people who are diagnosed are on treatment which makes HIV difficult to transmit.
  • 1.5 million people take an HIV test each year. Half are in a sexual health setting and half in pregnancy screening. More than 99% of all results are negative.
  • Roughly 4,130 people tested positive in 2019. This is less than 0.5% of all tests. Half were heterosexual and half were gay men.
  • Roughly 40% were diagnosed late. This is defined by having a CD4 count less than 350 cell/mm3. These people are likely to have been HIV positive for at least 3 to 5 years.
  • Late diagnosis causes half of all HIV-related deaths. These could be prevented with earlier testing.

Reference

  1. Estimates based on HIV in the UK, PHE December 2019 report.
    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hiv-in-the-united-kingdom

Last updated: 1 June 2021.