Sri Lanka is recording a sustained increase in HIV infections even as global progress against the virus continues, placing the country among 21 nations where estimated new HIV infections rose by more than 20% between 2010 and 2025, according to UNAIDS.
The finding appears in a 2026 UNAIDS report that assesses progress in reducing new HIV infections worldwide. The report lists Sri Lanka alongside countries including Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sudan among those that recorded increases of more than 20% over the 15-year period. The comparison is based on estimated new infections in 2010 and 2025 and does not represent a year-on-year increase in 2025.
Sri Lanka’s National STD/AIDS Control Programme provides further evidence of the upward trend. Its 2025 annual report estimates that about 860 people acquired HIV in 2025, compared with approximately 360 in 2010. The report says estimated new infections rose particularly rapidly after 2020 and reached an estimated range of about 800 to 980 in 2025.
The same report estimates that 8,650 people were living with HIV in Sri Lanka in 2025, with a range of 7,750 to 9,550. That is substantially higher than the 5,700 estimate cited in the NSACP’s 2024 data and reflects an updated estimate for the following year. The NSACP continues to classify Sri Lanka as having a low-level HIV epidemic, with adult prevalence below 0.1%.
The number of diagnosed and reported cases has also increased. The NSACP recorded 874 new HIV cases in 2025, compared with 824 in 2024 and 121 in 2010. Men accounted for 762 of the 874 cases reported in 2025, while women accounted for 110 and children under 15 accounted for two.
The rise in reported cases should not be treated as identical to the estimated number of new infections. Estimated infections are produced through epidemiological modelling, while reported cases are people diagnosed through the health system. The NSACP says the increase in reported cases could reflect a genuine expansion of the epidemic, improvements in case detection through increased testing, or a combination of the two.
The latest data also show a marked concentration of reported infections among men. In 2025, male-to-male sexual transmission accounted for 50% of reported cases where transmission mode was recorded, compared with 35% attributed to heterosexual transmission. Among male cases for which a transmission mode was declared, the NSACP report says male-to-male sex accounted for 67%, while heterosexual transmission accounted for 31%.
The increase in Sri Lanka contrasts with the broader global decline. UNAIDS estimates that 1.2 million people acquired HIV worldwide in 2025, while 570,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses. Although global new infections and AIDS-related deaths are at their lowest levels in more than three decades, UNAIDS says progress is uneven, with new infections rising in three regions and 21 countries.
The World Health Organization likewise estimates that 41 million people were living with HIV worldwide at the end of 2025 and that 1.2 million people acquired HIV during the year.
Sri Lanka’s latest figures therefore point to a country that retains a low overall HIV prevalence but is experiencing a significant increase in estimated infections and diagnosed cases. The NSACP says the upward trend requires stronger prevention, testing and case-finding efforts, particularly among populations at higher risk.
