Countries with the highest number of AIDS-related deaths 2020

In 2020, South Africa had the highest number of deaths due to AIDS worldwide with around 83 thousand such deaths. African countries account for the top four countries with the highest number of AIDS-related deaths worldwide. AIDS-related deaths worldwide have been gradually declining over the past decade, decreasing from 1.5 million deaths in 2010 to 690 thousand deaths in 2019.

HIV/AIDS

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is an infectious sexually transmitted disease that is transmitted via exposure to infected semen, blood, vaginal and anal fluids and breast milk. HIV weakens the human immune system, resulting in the affected person being unable to fight off opportunistic infections. The top 15 countries worldwide with the highest prevalence of new HIV infections as of 2019 were all African.

HIV treatment

Although there is currently no effective cure for HIV, death can be prevented by taking HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART). Access to antiretroviral therapy worldwide has significantly increased in the past decade. As of 2020, over 27 million people with HIV worldwide were receiving ART. The leading countries with the highest percentage of HIV-infected children who were receiving ART were Eswatini, Kenya, and Lesotho