Between 2003 and 2005, 6,000 to 7,000 people learned they were HIV-positive each year, and this number appears to be stable: - 24% were infected within the 6 months prior to learning of their HIV status; - 40% are women; - 43% are foreign nationals, the majority of whom are from sub-Saharan Africa; - 55% were infected through heterosexual intercourse and 23% through homosexual intercourse; - 18% of women were diagnosed during pregnancy; - there are significant regional disparities, with the Île-de-France (IDF) region and the French departments in the Americas being the most affected, with the IDF accounting for nearly half of all HIV diagnoses; - There is significant diversity among the viruses circulating in France: nearly half of those who discover their HIV-positive status are infected with a non-B subtype of HIV-1.