Update on the HIV/AIDS situation in Singapore 2022 (June 2023)

12 June 2023

UPDATE ON THE HIV/AIDS SITUATION IN SINGAPORE 2022 (JUNE 2023)

There were 202 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections reported among Singapore residents¹ in 2022. This brings the total number of HIV-infected Singapore residents to 9,331 as of end 2022, of whom 2,362 had passed away. The annual number of new HIV cases among Singapore residents had ranged from 400 to 500 from 2007 to 2017, and gradually decreased to below 300 cases in the last three years.

2. Of the 202 new cases, 93% were male and 65% were aged between 20 and 49 years. 51% of the new cases (104 out of 202) had late-stage HIV infection² when they were diagnosed.

3. Sexual intercourse remains the main mode of HIV transmission, accounting for 93% of the cases. Heterosexual transmission accounted for 37% of all cases, while 51% and 4% of the cases were due to homosexual and bisexual transmissions respectively.

4. 53% of the newly reported cases were detected during the course of medical care³ and typically at a late stage of HIV infection. Another 18% were detected during routine programmatic HIV screening⁴ and 17% were detected from self-initiated HIV screening. The rest were detected through other forms of screening. Cases detected via self-initiated screening tended to be at the early stage of infection. A higher proportion of men who have sex with men (MSM) including bisexual males (26% or 29 out of 111) had their HIV infection detected via self-initiated HIV screening compared to cases attributed to heterosexual transmission (7% or 5 out of 75).

5. Annex A provides detailed data for cases reported from 1985 to 2022.

Public Advisory

6. The most effective way to prevent HIV infection is to remain faithful to one’s spouse/ partner and to avoid casual sex, or sex with sex workers. Persons engaging in high-risk sexual behaviour, such as having multiple sexual partners or engaging in casual or commercial sex, are strongly advised to use condoms to reduce their risk of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections. Condoms should be used consistently and correctly during every sexual encounter. In addition, the use of preventive measures like HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis are highly effective when used as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy.

7. The Ministry of Health and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) urge individuals who engage in high-risk sexual behaviour to go for regular HIV testing every three to six months. Going for HIV testing is the only way to know your HIV status. Everyone should know their HIV status and get tested at least once. Regular testing and early diagnosis allow persons living with HIV to be treated early and achieve better treatment outcome. This also provides an opportunity to protect their partners from infection as persons living with HIV who are on treatment and have an undetectable viral load have practically no risk of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners. With early and effective treatment, people living with HIV can lead lives no different from others.

8. HPB has been working with partner organisations to conduct programmes and campaigns to encourage high-risk individuals to take protective measures, such as going for early and regular HIV testing.

9. More information about HIV and AIDS as well as where to undergo HIV testing, can be found on go.gov.sg/preventhiv

Annex A

Table 1: Number of Singapore Residents Reported with HIV/AIDS (1985 – 2022)

Year	Male	Female	Total	Rates*
1985	2	0	2	0.1
1986	6	1	7	0.3
1987	10	0	10	0.4
1988	15	0	15	0.6
1989	9	1	10	0.4
1990	17	0	17	0.6
1991	39	3	42	1.5
1992	49	6	55	1.9
1993	58	6	64	2.2
1994	76	10	86	2.9
1995	102	9	111	3.7
1996	123	16	139	4.5
1997	157	16	173	5.5
1998	167	32	199	6.3
1999	171	35	206	6.4
2000	193	33	226	6.9
2001	204	33	237	7.1
2002	206	28	234	6.9
2003	212	30	242	7.2
2004	290	21	311	9.1
2005	287	30	317	9.1
2006	327	32	359	10.2
2007	392	31	423	11.8
2008	426	30	456	12.5
2009	418	45	463	12.4
2010	403	38	441	11.7
2011	430	31	461	12.2
2012	437	32	469	12.3
2013	428	26	454	11.8
2014	422	34	456	11.8
2015	423	32	455	11.7
2016	380	28	408	10.4
2017	408	26	434	10.9
2018	290	23	313	7.8
2019	308	15	323	8.0
2020	241	20	261	6.5
2021	238	12	250	6.3
2022	187	15	202	5.0
Total	8551	780	9331

*Per 100,000 resident population.

Table 2: Distribution of HIV/AIDS - Infected Singapore Residents By Modes of Transmission (1985 – 2022)

Mode of Transmission	1985 - 2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	Total
Sexual Transmission
Heterosexual	4138	148	155	135	128	96	82	75	4957
Homosexual	2126	213	218	132	161	125	147	103	3225
Bisexual	523	28	44	31	26	28	8	9^	697
Intravenous drug use	120	4	0	1	1	3	3	3	135
Blood Transfusion	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Renal Transplant overseas	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Perinatal (mother to child)	31	2*	1*	0	0	0	0	0	34
Uncertain/Others	194	13	16	14	7	9	10	12	275
Total	7140	408	434	313	323	261	250	202	9331

*Transmission occurred overseas
^8 males and 1 female

Table 3: HIV/AIDS - Infected Singapore Residents By Marital Status and Sex (1985 – 2022)

Marital status		1985 - 2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	Total
Male
	Single	4165	282	316	199	214	175	191	143	5685
	Married	1665	68	65	68	67	53	35	35	2056
	Divorced/Separated	551	24	23	12	22	13	8	9	662
	Widowed	118	6	4	11	5	0	4	0	148
	Total	6499	380	408	290	308	241	238	187	8551
Female
	Single	126	1	7	6	2	6	2	3	153
	Married	369	16	11	11	9	10	6	5	437
	Divorced/Separated	101	9	7	3	3	3	3	6	135
	Widowed	45	2	1	3	1	1	1	1	55
	Total	641	28	26	23	15	20	12	15	780
Total
	Single	4291	283	323	205	216	181	193	146	5838
	Married	2034	84	76	79	76	63	41	40	2493
	Divorced/Separated	652	33	30	15	25	16	11	15	797
	Widowed	163	8	5	14	6	1	5	1	203
	Total	7140	408	434	313	323	261	250	202	9331

Table 4: HIV/AIDS - Infected Singapore Residents by Ethnic Group (1985 – 2022)

Ethnic Group	1985 - 2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	Total
Chinese	5610	275	299	209	197	172	157	122	7041
Malay	963	88	82	59	92	65	61	52	1462
Indian	348	29	27	29	20	15	22	19	509
Others	219	16	26	16	14	9	10	9	319
Total	7140	408	434	313	323	261	250	202	9331

Table 5: HIV/AIDS - Infected Male Singapore Residents by Age and Modes of Transmission (1985 – 2022)

Age group and mode of transmission			1985 - 2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	Total
Male	Heterosexual
		15 – 19	8	0	1	0	2	0	0	1	12
		20 – 29	327	10	17	8	5	2	4	5	378
		30 – 39	826	17	19	16	25	13	18	10	944
		40 – 49	1017	30	31	25	21	12	12	17	1165
		50 – 59	786	41	38	38	32	28	16	15	994
		60 & above	585	23	26	27	28	22	20	14	745
		Total	3549	121	132	114	113	77	70	62	4238
	Homosexual/Bisexual
		15 – 19	50	2	4	3	6	5	0	1	71
		20 – 29	732	82	77	45	42	32	29	24	1063
		30 – 39	1012	67	75	42	52	49	46	35	1378
		40 – 49	615	60	62	41	52	36	45	29	940
		50 – 59	197	25	38	26	29	21	24	17	377
		60 & above	34	5	5	6	6	10	11	5	82
		Total	2640	241	261	163	187	153	155	111	3911
	Others
		0 – 14	17	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	19
		15 –19	8	1	2	1	1	0	0	1	14
		20 –29	42	1	1	0	2	0	3	1	50
		30 –39	93	3	3	2	0	3	5	1	110
		40 –49	82	5	5	1	4	1	1	3	102
		50 –59	49	4	3	5	1	3	1	4	70
		60 & above	19	2	1	4	0	4	3	4	37
		Total	310	18	15	13	8	11	13	14	402
	Total
		0 – 14	17	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	19
		15 – 19	66	3	7	4	9	5	0	3	97
		20 – 29	1101	93	95	53	49	34	36	30	1491
		30 – 39	1931	87	97	60	77	65	69	46	2432
		40 – 49	1714	95	98	67	77	49	58	49	2207
		50 – 59	1032	70	79	69	62	52	41	36	1441
		60 & above	638	30	32	37	34	36	34	23	864
		Total	6499	380	408	290	308	241	238	187	8551

Table 6: HIV/AIDS - Infected Female Singapore Residents by Age and Modes of Transmission (1985 – 2022)

Age group and mode of transmission			1985 - 2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	Total
Female	Sexual
		15 – 19	12	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	14
		20 – 29	149	5	7	4	1	0	2	4^	172
		30 – 39	161	3	3	4	4	5	3	0	183
		40 – 49	123	7	6	4	4	3	3	3	153
		50 – 59	100	8	5	4	4	7	2	2	132
		60& above	53	4	3	5	2	3	2	4	76
		Total	598	27	24	21	15	19	12	14	730
	Others
		0 – 14	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15
		15 –19	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
		20 –29	6	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	7
		30 –39	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	10
		40 –49	9	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	10
		50 –59	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	4
		60 & above	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3
		Total	43	1	2	2	0	1	0	1	50
	Total
		0 – 14	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15
		15 – 19	12	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	15
		20 – 29	155	5	7	4	1	1	2	4	179
		30 – 39	170	4	3	4	4	5	3	0	193
		40 – 49	132	7	6	5	4	3	3	3	163
		50 – 59	102	8	5	5	4	7	2	3	136
		60 & above	55	4	4	5	2	3	2	4	79
		Total	641	28	26	23	15	20	12	15	780

^ including 1 bisexual