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As of 2024, South Africa was the country with the highest number of people living with HIV in Africa. At that time, around 7.8 million people in South Africa were HIV positive. In Mozambique, the country with the second-highest number of HIV-positive people in Africa, around 2.5 million people were living with HIV. 

Which country in Africa has the highest prevalence of HIV?

Although South Africa has the highest total number of people living with HIV in Africa, it does not have the highest prevalence of HIV on the continent. Eswatini currently has the highest prevalence of HIV in Africa and worldwide, with almost 26 percent of the population living with HIV. South Africa has the third-highest prevalence, with around 18 percent of the population HIV positive. Eswatini also has the highest rate of new HIV infections per 1,000 population worldwide, followed by South Africa and Mozambique. However, South Africa had the highest total number of new HIV infections in 2024, with around 170,000 people newly infected with HIV that year. 

Deaths from HIV in Africa

Thanks to advances in treatment and awareness, HIV/AIDS no longer contributes to a significant amount of death in many countries. However, the disease is still the eighth leading cause of death in Africa, accounting for around 4.6 percent of all deaths. In 2024, South Africa and Mozambique were the countries with the highest number of AIDS-related deaths worldwide, with 53,000 and 44,000 such deaths, respectively. Although not every country in the leading 25 for AIDS-related deaths is found in Africa, African countries account for the majority of countries on the list. Fortunately, HIV treatment has become more accessible in Africa over the years, and now up to 94 percent of people living with HIV in Eswatini are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Access to ART does vary from country to country, however, with around 81 percent of people who are HIV positive in South Africa receiving ART and only 34 percent in the Congo.