<P> In 2016 , about 36.7 million people were living with HIV and it resulted in 1 million deaths . There were 300,000 fewer new HIV cases in 2016 than in 2015 . Most of those infected live in sub-Saharan Africa . From the time AIDS was identified in the early 1980s to 2017 , the disease has caused an estimated 35 million deaths worldwide . HIV / AIDS is considered a pandemic -- a disease outbreak which is present over a large area and is actively spreading . HIV originated in west - central Africa during the late 19th or early 20th century . AIDS was first recognized by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) in 1981 and its cause -- HIV infection -- was identified in the early part of the decade . </P>
<P> In 2016 , about 36.7 million people were living with HIV and it resulted in 1 million deaths . There were 300,000 fewer new HIV cases in 2016 than in 2015 . Most of those infected live in sub-Saharan Africa . From the time AIDS was identified in the early 1980s to 2017 , the disease has caused an estimated 35 million deaths worldwide . HIV / AIDS is considered a pandemic -- a disease outbreak which is present over a large area and is actively spreading . HIV originated in west - central Africa during the late 19th or early 20th century . AIDS was first recognized by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) in 1981 and its cause -- HIV infection -- was identified in the early part of the decade . </P>
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ( aids ) was identified as a disease in the
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ( aids ) was identified as a disease in the
early 1980s
early 1980s