811 people were diagnosed with HIV in the Netherlands in 2011, according to the HIV Monitoring Foundation. That figure is similar to the number in 2010.

In total, there are approximately 19,500 people in the Netherlands who are known to have HIV or AIDS. Approximately 4 out of 5 are male.

Homosexual contact among men is by far the biggest risk factor for contracting HIV in the Netherlands. Over 72 percent of all infections come from sex between men. But the trend of recent years, that the number of infections among gay men has been on the rise, has been broken. 

The number of new cases of AIDS last year was between 250 and 300, according to the HIV Monitoring Foundation. The number of people who actually die from AIDS is declining.

(dcf/imm)

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide