HIV in the UK statistics

Stay informed with the latest data on HIV in the UK from 2022

Living with HIV

In 2014, UNAIDS established the global 90-90-90 targets.

  • The aim was for 90% of all people living with HIV to be diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed to receive HIV treatment and 90% of those receiving treatment to achieve viral suppression, by 2020.  
  • If taken as percentages of all people living with HIV, the 90-90-90 targets translate as 90% of all people living with HIV to be diagnosed, 81% of all people living with HIV are on treatment and 73% of all people living with HIV are virally suppressed.

In 2019, it was estimated that there are 105,200 people living with HIV in the UK. 

  • 94% of these people are diagnosed, and therefore know that they have HIV. This means that around 1 in 16 people living with HIV in the UK do not know that they have the virus.
  • 98% of people diagnosed with HIV in the UK are engaged in care and on treatment, and 97% of those engaged and on treatment are virally suppressed which means they can’t pass the virus on. Of all the people living with HIV in the UK, 89% are virally suppressed. 
  • There is a lack of clarity over the number of people lost to care.  

The means that the UK has met (and exceeded) the UNAIDs 90-90-90 targets for 2020.

Accessing care

  • A total of 102,168 people received HIV care in 2022 in the UK.
  • The number of people accessing specialist care for HIV has reached its highest number ever, 
  •  From 2013 to 2022, the number of people accessing HIV care increased by almost 27%.

Gender

  • In 2022, over two-thirds of the people accessing HIV care in the UK were men, with women representing 31.7% of all people accessing care.  

Ethnicity 

Of all the people whose ethnicities are known and who received specialist HIV care in the UK in 2022:

  • 53.7% were white of the people receiving HIV specialist care in the UK in 2022 were white.
  • 30.2% were Black African. 
  • 4.6% were Asian, 2.9% Black Caribbean and 2.3 "Black other"
  • 6.3% were of "Other" ethnicity. 

Age

As people can live longer, healthier lives with HIV we have seen the number of people with an HIV diagnosis who are aged 50 and over increase in recent years. 

  • Almost half (49.8%) of people accessing HIV care in 2022 were aged 50 or over, and 8.9% were 65 or over. 
  • Over time, the number of people living with HIV aged 50-64 has increased and this group is now bigger than the 35-49 years age group. This shows how effective treatment is helping people to live longer with HIV.  

UK distribution

  • 92.4% of the people receiving HIV care in the UK in 2022 did so in England.
  • 36.5% of people receiving HIV care across the UK 2022 did so in London. 
  • Data are not available for Northern Ireland in 2022. 

Mode of transmission

  • Of the 102,168 people accessing HIV care in the UK in 2022, the probable exposure is known for 95.9% of these.
  • Of the people for whom probable exposure is known, 95.4% of people accessing HIV care in 2022 acquired HIV through sexual transmission. The number of people who acquired HIV through sex between men and women(48.6%) is slightly higher than the proportion of people who acquired HIV through sex between men (46.9%)
  • Much smaller proportions of people accessing HIV care in 2022 acquired HIV through injecting drug use or vertical transmission (1.8% each). Vertical transmission occurs when HIV is passed from mother to baby, either in the womb, during birth or via breastfeeding.

Newly Diagnosed


  • 4,040 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in the UK in 2022.


  • New HIV diagnoses saw a small increase in 2022 compared to previous years. However the general trajectory is down; decreasing by 5.2% between 2019 and 2022, and by 36.2% since we saw a peak number in 2014 (6,336 new diagnoses).


  • This recent reduction has been mostly driven by fewer HIV diagnoses among men who have sex with men, which have decreased by 63.83% since 2014, when the UK saw 3,222 new diagnoses with sex between men as the probably exposure. 


  • 3,007 (74.4%) of new diagnoses in 2022 were due to sexual transmission. The probable exposure that saw the largest number of new diagnoses in 2022 was sex between men and women, followed closely by sex between men.

Gender

  • Out of the 4,040 people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2022, 63.44% were men and 36.4% were women.

Ethnicity

  • 34.4% of people diagnosed with HIV in 2022 were white and 28.4% were Black African. 


  • 11.6% of new diagnoses were among people with 'Other or mixed' ethnicity, 9.4% were among Asian people and 1.7% were among Black Caribbean people.

Age

  • 71.9% of people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2022 were aged between 25 and 49. 
  • The number of people being diagnosed with HIV later in life has grown since 2018, with almost 20% of all new diagnoses being in people aged 50 or over in 2022. 

UK Distribution

  • 94.2% of newly diagnosed cases of HIV in the UK occured in England in 2022. 
  • Across the UK, the region which had the highest proportion of new HIV diagnoses in 2022 is London, with 33.7% of all new diagnoses occurring here. 
  • Data are not available for Northern Ireland for 2022.

Late diagnosis 

Headlines

  • Someone is considered to have been diagnosed with HIV late if they have a CD4 count below 350 cells/mm³ within three months (91 day) of diagnosis.

  • People who are diagnosed late have been living with undiagnosed HIV for around three to five years, on average.

  • Late diagnosis increases the risk of ill-health, early death and onward transmission of HIV.

  • In 2022, 3,292 individuals diagnosed with HIV had their CD4 count identified within 91 days of diagnosis. 1,136 (34.5%) of these individuals were diagnosed at a late stage of HIV infection.



Probable HIV exposures (England only)

  • Of the individuals in England for whom CD4 count at diagnosis was measured within the first 91 days, the highest proportion of late diagnoses was seen through injecting drug use. 48% of cases of this nature were diagnosed late. This was closely followed by men who acquired HIV through sex with women, among whom 46% of cases were diagnosed late.
  • Sex between men saw the lowest proportion of late diagonoses among the exposure groups, with 29% of cases* of this nature diagnosed late. Among those for whom exposure group is unknown but who knew their CD4 count at diagnosis, 33% of cases were diagnosed late, and for those who had and "other" HIV exposure, 32% of cases were diagnosed late.

Age at diagnosis (England only)

  • In general, older people are more likely to be diagnosed late in England.
  • 25% of people aged 15-24 were diagnosed late, out of those who learned their CD4 count within their first 91 days of diagnosis, compared to 52% of those aged 50-64 and 48% of those aged 65 and older.

Ethnicity (England only)

  • Of the individuals in England for whom CD4 count at diagnosis was measured within the first 91 days, the highest proportion of late diagnoses was seen among white (43%) and Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi (43%) ethnicities.
  • 40% of people whose ethnicity was unknown were diagnosed late, followed by 38% of ‘any other’ ethnicity group.
  • 38% of Black Caribbean individuals in England were diagnosed late, after knowing their CD4 count in the first 91 days.

UK distribution 

  • Geographically, the highest rates of late diagnosis in 2022 in the UK, among those who knew their CD4 count in the first three months, were in Wales (42%), followed by the West Midlands (39%), Scotland (38%) and the South East of England (37%). The lowest rate was in Yorkshire and the Humber (30%).
  • Data are not available for Northern Ireland for 2022


Men who have sex with men (MSM)

New HIV diagnoses

  • We use the term 'men who have sex with men' to describe all gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.

  • In 2022, 1,166 cases of HIV were exposed through sex between men, making up 28.9% of all new HIV diagnoses. 1,101 of these cases (94.4%) were in England.

  • The number of new cases in the UK in 2022 is a 63.8% decrease since 2014 and reflects the success of increased HIV testing and increased uptake of HIV treatment. The introduction of HIV prevention drug PrEP is also likely to have had an impact.

  • In England only, 965 cases exposed through sex between men were aware of their CD4 count within 3 months of diagnosis, and 29% of these were deemed to have been diagnosed late. This equates to 25.2% of all cases exposed through sex between men in England 2022.

Age (England only)

  • 44.2% of MSM newly diagnosed with HIV in England in 2022 were aged between 25 and 34.  
  • All age groups have seen an overall decrease in diagnoses since 2015.

Ethnicity (England only)

  • 51.9% of MSM diagnosed with HIV in 2022 in England were white.
  • The second-largest ethnic group among newly diagnosed MSM in 2022 was Asian, with 17.1% of new cases, although 13% of new cases were of another or mixed ethnicity, and the ethnicity of 10% of new cases was unknown.

UK distribution

  • The highest number of new cases in MSM attributed to sex between men in 2022 were diagnosed in London, with 438 new cases. The North West of England recorded 142 new cases and the South East of England recorded 140.
  • The fewest new cases of this kind in 2022 were recorded in Wales, with 32 new cases attributed to sex between men.

In care

Age (England only)

  • In England in 2022, 42,020 individuals identifying as gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men aged 15 and over were seen for HIV care
  • 39.6% of MSM accessing HIV care in 2022 in England were aged 50-64, making this the largest age group represented.
  • The second largest group is 35-49, representing 36.7% of MSM receiving HIV care in 2022 in England. As people are living longer with HIV, the average age of those accessing care is increasing. 

Ethnicity (England only)

  • The vast majority of MSM accessing care in 2022 in England were white, with this group making up 80.6% of MSM accessing HIV care. The Asian community made up just 1.1%, making it the least represented ethiniticy among MSM accessing care. 
  • Those recorded as ‘other/mixed’ ethnicity made up 6.9% of MSM accessing care in 2022.
  • Black African and Black Caribbean individuals each made up slightly over 2% of MSM accessing care in 2022.

UK distribution

  • The largest number of MSM accessing care across the UK were those living in London, with 17,886 HIV positive individuals from the MSM community accessing care in 2022. This was followed by the South East with 5,658 cases and the North West with 5,409 cases.

Black African people


New HIV diagnoses

  • In 2022, 1,146 Black African people were newly diagnosed with HIV in the UK, making up 28.4% of all new HIV diagnoses. Since 2014, new diagnoses among this community had decreased by 11.9% by 2022.


  • 64.1 % of newly diagnosed Black African individual were women. New HIV diagnoses in Black African individuals increased by 64.7% between 2024 and 2022, which has been attributed to people who were previously diagnosed abroad and do not reflect a rise in transmission in the UK.  


  • Of those who learned their CD4 count within the first three months of diagnosis among the Black African community, 49% were diagnosed late.


  • New HIV diagnoses in Black African decreased 12% between 2014 and 2022.  


  • The following data are focused on Black African individuals who acquired HIV via sex between men and women only, as this is how UKHSA produces their disaggregated data. 


New cases by gender among Black African individuals who acquired HIV through sex between men and women (England only)

New cases by age among Black African individuals who acquired HIV through sex between men and women (England only)

Accesing HIV care

  • In 2022, 29,918 Black African people accessed HIV care, making up 29.3% of all those accessing HIV care in the UK.


  • The following data are focused on Black African individuals who acquired HIV via sex between men and women only, as this is how UKHSA produces their disaggregated data. 


In care by gender among Black African individuals who acquired HIV through sex between men and women (England only)

In care by age among Black African individuals who acquired HIV through sex between men and women

Trans people (England)


Since 2017 UKHSA has published data on trans people accessing HIV care and those newly diagnosed with HIV.


  • Less than 5 trans people were newly diagnosed with HIV in 2022, and 212 trans people accessed care in the same year.

Mode of transmission

  • 68.9% trans people accessing HIV care in 2022 were exposed to HIV through sex between men.

Gender

  • 77.4% of trans people accessing HIV care in 2022 were trans women. Just 29 trans men and 19 gender diverse people were accessing HIV care in England in 2022.

Age

  • Trans people aged 35-49 are the largest age group accessing HIV care in England, making up 48.6% of all trans people accessing care in 2022.
  • Of the 212 trans people accessing HIV care in 2022, 22.2% were aged 15-34 and 29.3% were aged 50 and over.

Ethnicity

  • The majority (55.7%) of trans people accessing HIV care in 2022 were white (118 people), with 63 trans people (30%) of other or mixed ethnicity making up the second largest group.

PrEP


  • In 2022, 86,324 people initiated or continued PrEP in England, making up 85.4% of those with an identified PrEP need. This is a 40.3% increase from the number initiating or continuing PrEP in 2021. 


  • The majority of people initiating or continuing PrEP in England in 2022 were white gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men, with 74.6% of those with PrEP need in this groups initiating or continuing PrEP in this year.


  • Women only represented 2.9% of attendees of specialist sexua health services who initiated or continued use of PrEP in England in 2022.


Gender and sexual orientation of attendees of HIV care initiating or continuing PrEP in 2022

Age of attendees of HIV care initiating or continuing PrEP in 2022

Ethnicity of attendees of HIV care initiating or continuing PrEP in 2022

Attendees of HIV care initiating or continuing PrEP in 2022 in England by region