How we collected statistics

The number of HIV infections in India is difficult to determine. The country’s prevalence estimates are based solely on sentinel surveillance conducted at public sites. The country has no national information system to collect HIV testing information from the private sector, which provides 80% of health care in the country.

Although the HIV prevalence rate is low (0.9%), the overall number of people with HIV infection is very high according to estimates by UNAIDS. Given India's large population, with most of the Indian states having a population greater than a majority of the countries in Africa, a mere 0.1 percent increase in the prevalence rate would increase the number of adults living with HIV/AIDS by over half a million people.

There are a number of states where the HIV prevalence in antenatal women is 1% or more, and these are considered to be high prevalence states. The prevalence data are derived from the screening of women attending antenatal clinics (ANC), meaning that these prevalence rates are only relevant to sexually active women. However, these rates can provide a reasonable estimate of HIV prevalence within the general population in each state.

The spread of HIV in India has been diverse, with much of India having a low rate of infection and the epidemic being most extreme in the southern half of the country and in the far north-east. The highest HIV prevalence rates are found in Maharashtra in the west; Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in the south; and Manipur and Nagaland in the north-east.