Estimated share of people living with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection, ages 15–49
Estimated % of people ages 15–49 living with HSV‑2 infection by country (2019). WHO/LSHTM modelled estimates support global comparisons.
Loading visualization...
Key Insights
- •HSV‑2 prevalence varies widely across countries, with the highest estimates concentrated in parts of sub‑Saharan Africa.
- •Many high-income countries cluster at relatively low estimated prevalence (often mid‑single digits).
- •Because HSV‑2 is lifelong, prevalence reflects cumulative historical transmission as well as current incidence trends.
Country Rankings
Top 10 Countries
Bottom 10 Countries
Data Analysis
Value Distribution
How countries are distributed across the value range
Regional Comparison
Average values by world region (Global avg: 9.3%)
About This Statistic
This statistic measures the estimated proportion of people aged 15–49 who are living with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV‑2), the primary cause of genital herpes. HSV‑2 infection is lifelong, often asymptomatic, and a major global sexually transmitted infection (STI) burden; prevalence varies widely by region due to differences in sexual networks, age patterns, and historical transmission.
The estimates are produced from a global modelling framework that synthesizes available seroprevalence studies and adjusts for test performance and demographic structure to generate comparable country-level prevalence. Because many countries lack recent nationally representative surveys, the figures should be interpreted as modelled best estimates rather than direct census-like counts.
Full Data
| Rank ↑ | Country ↕ | Value ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burundi | 31.0% |
| 2 | Rwanda | 31.0% |
| 3 | Somalia | 29.0% |
| 4 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 27.0% |
| 5 | Namibia | 26.0% |
| 6 | Gabon | 25.0% |
| 7 | Mozambique | 25.0% |
| 8 | Zimbabwe | 25.0% |
| 9 | Malawi | 24.0% |
| 10 | United Republic of Tanzania | 24.0% |
| 11 | Uganda | 23.0% |
| 12 | Zambia | 23.0% |
| 13 | Cape Verde | 22.0% |
| 14 | Kenya | 22.0% |
| 15 | Barbados | 22.0% |
| 16 | Lesotho | 21.0% |
| 17 | Republic of the Congo | 20.0% |
| 18 | Cote d'Ivoire | 20.0% |
| 19 | Chad | 18.0% |
| 20 | South Sudan | 18.0% |
| 21 | Algeria | 18.0% |
| 22 | Liberia | 17.0% |
| 23 | Madagascar | 17.0% |
| 24 | Guinea | 16.0% |
| 25 | Nigeria | 16.0% |
| 26 | Cameroon | 15.0% |
| 27 | Eritrea | 15.0% |
| 28 | Mauritania | 15.0% |
| 29 | Niger | 15.0% |
| 30 | Ghana | 14.0% |
| 31 | Mali | 14.0% |
| 32 | New Caledonia | 14.0% |
| 33 | Togo | 14.0% |
| 34 | Burkina Faso | 14.0% |
| 35 | Australia | 14.0% |
| 36 | Belize | 14.0% |
| 37 | Djibouti | 13.0% |
| 38 | Republic of The Gambia | 13.0% |
| 39 | Sierra Leone | 13.0% |
| 40 | Benin | 12.0% |
| 41 | Dominican Republic | 12.0% |
| 42 | Haiti | 12.0% |
| 43 | Guinea-Bissau | 12.0% |
| 44 | Senegal | 12.0% |
| 45 | South Africa | 12.0% |
| 46 | Jamaica | 11.0% |
| 47 | Papua New Guinea | 11.0% |
| 48 | Central African Republic | 10.0% |
| 49 | Ecuador | 10.0% |
| 50 | El Salvador | 10.0% |
| 51 | Guatemala | 10.0% |
| 52 | Mexico | 10.0% |
| 53 | Panama | 10.0% |
| 54 | Egypt | 10.0% |
| 55 | Samoa | 10.0% |
| 56 | Argentina | 10.0% |
| 57 | Belgium | 10.0% |
| 58 | Colombia | 9.0% |
| 59 | Honduras | 9.0% |
| 60 | Nicaragua | 9.0% |
| 61 | Paraguay | 9.0% |
| 62 | Sudan | 9.0% |
| 63 | Venezuela | 9.0% |
| 64 | Yemen | 9.0% |
| 65 | Armenia | 9.0% |
| 66 | Albania | 8.5% |
| 67 | Mauritius | 8.0% |
| 68 | Peru | 8.0% |
| 69 | Angola | 8.0% |
| 70 | Chile | 7.0% |
| 71 | Costa Rica | 7.0% |
| 72 | Cuba | 7.0% |
| 73 | Libya | 7.0% |
| 74 | Suriname | 7.0% |
| 75 | Uruguay | 7.0% |
| 76 | Bolivia | 7.0% |
| 77 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 7.0% |
| 78 | Brazil | 7.0% |
| 79 | Afghanistan | 6.5% |
| 80 | Cambodia | 6.0% |
| 81 | Cayman Islands | 6.0% |
| 82 | Sri Lanka | 6.0% |
| 83 | Croatia | 6.0% |
| 84 | Ethiopia | 6.0% |
| 85 | Iraq | 6.0% |
| 86 | Moldova, Republic of | 6.0% |
| 87 | Morocco | 6.0% |
| 88 | Romania | 6.0% |
| 89 | Austria | 6.0% |
| 90 | Botswana | 6.0% |
| 91 | Belarus | 5.0% |
| 92 | Cyprus | 5.0% |
| 93 | Czech Republic | 5.0% |
| 94 | Estonia | 5.0% |
| 95 | State of Palestine | 5.0% |
| 96 | Greece | 5.0% |
| 97 | Hungary | 5.0% |
| 98 | Jordan | 5.0% |
| 99 | Kuwait | 5.0% |
| 100 | Lebanon | 5.0% |
| 101 | Latvia | 5.0% |
| 102 | Lithuania | 5.0% |
| 103 | Oman | 5.0% |
| 104 | Portugal | 5.0% |
| 105 | Timor-Leste | 5.0% |
| 106 | Qatar | 5.0% |
| 107 | Saudi Arabia | 5.0% |
| 108 | Serbia | 5.0% |
| 109 | Vietnam | 5.0% |
| 110 | Slovenia | 5.0% |
| 111 | Thailand | 5.0% |
| 112 | Tunisia | 5.0% |
| 113 | Ukraine | 5.0% |
| 114 | Bahrain | 5.0% |
| 115 | Bangladesh | 5.0% |
| 116 | Myanmar | 4.0% |
| 117 | Canada | 4.0% |
| 118 | Denmark | 4.0% |
| 119 | Finland | 4.0% |
| 120 | France | 4.0% |
| 121 | Georgia | 4.0% |
| 122 | Germany | 4.0% |
| 123 | India | 4.0% |
| 124 | Indonesia | 4.0% |
| 125 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 4.0% |
| 126 | Ireland | 4.0% |
| 127 | Israel | 4.0% |
| 128 | Italy | 4.0% |
| 129 | Kazakhstan | 4.0% |
| 130 | Kyrgyzstan | 4.0% |
| 131 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 4.0% |
| 132 | Luxembourg | 4.0% |
| 133 | Malaysia | 4.0% |
| 134 | Montenegro | 4.0% |
| 135 | Nepal | 4.0% |
| 136 | Netherlands | 4.0% |
| 137 | New Zealand | 4.0% |
| 138 | Norway | 4.0% |
| 139 | Pakistan | 4.0% |
| 140 | Philippines | 4.0% |
| 141 | Poland | 4.0% |
| 142 | Russian Federation | 4.0% |
| 143 | Slovakia | 4.0% |
| 144 | Spain | 4.0% |
| 145 | Sweden | 4.0% |
| 146 | Switzerland | 4.0% |
| 147 | Tajikistan | 4.0% |
| 148 | Türkiye | 4.0% |
| 149 | United Kingdom | 4.0% |
| 150 | United States of America | 4.0% |
| 151 | Uzbekistan | 4.0% |
| 152 | Solomon Islands | 4.0% |
| 153 | Brunei Darussalam | 4.0% |
| 154 | Bulgaria | 3.0% |
| 155 | People's Republic of China | 3.0% |
| 156 | Iceland | 3.0% |
| 157 | Japan | 3.0% |
| 158 | Mongolia | 3.0% |
| 159 | Singapore | 3.0% |
Topics
Data Source
This data comes from World Health Organization (WHO) (2019).
View Original Source