In 2024, the Balearic Islands registered the lowest HIV infection rate in its history, a decrease that is also reflected in Ibiza and Formentera, where 23 new infections have been confirmed, according to data released by the Ministry of Health on the occasion of World AIDS Day. The Balearic incidence stands at 7.87 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the lowest since regional records have been kept.
The downward trend, which is an unprecedented epidemiological milestone in the archipelago, shows that the reduction affects all the islands. In the island distribution, Mallorca concentrated the majority of cases, while Ibiza and Formentera contributed a significant part of the total without breaking the general downward trend.
According to the General Directorate of Public Health, the Balearic Islands added 97 new HIV infections in 2024, consolidating a decline that has remained virtually uninterrupted since 2008. The overall incidence, despite being the lowest in two decades, remains slightly above the state average of 6.95 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Cases in the Pitiusas Islands
In the case of Ibiza and Formentera, the 23 new diagnoses keep the Pitiusas Islands within the usual epidemiological patterns, where infection among men who have sex with men and sexual transmission predominate. The most frequent age group continues to be between 30 and 49 years, the group with the highest presence among the new cases registered in 2024.
The Regional Ministry of Health highlights that the Balearic evolution confirms a sustained fall since the historical maximum in 2008, when 209 infections were detected. Since then, with slight oscillations, the curve has followed a continuous decline that reached its lowest value in 21 years in 2024.
By transmission category, 2024 reflected a similar distribution to previous years, with 50 cases among men who have sex with men and 42 in heterosexual relations. Two cases were also reported among venous drug users and one through mother-to-child transmission, while in two diagnoses the source of infection could not be determined.
The report also shows an increase in new diagnoses in women, from 12 to 22 cases in one year, while infections in men decreased from 89 to 75. This variation, according to the Conselleria, is interpreted within the natural evolution of the historical series and does not alter the downward trend of the whole archipelago.
In terms of origin, the predominance of infections in people born outside Spain is maintained, representing 56% of the total, two points more than in 2023. This indicator, according to the regional department, requires reinforcing the campaigns for access to testing and prevention aimed at the migrant population.
The cumulative period from 2003 to 2024 accounted for 3,325 diagnoses in the Balearic Islands, with a male predominance (81.8%) and a majority profile linked to risky sexual practices. The Conselleria stresses that the goal for the coming years is still to move towards the slogan set this year by World AIDS Day: “Zero deaths from AIDS by 2030”.
