Some 1.5 million people have died of AIDS in South Africa to date, according to Statistics SA on Thursday.

Statistics SA's 2004 mid-year statistical update published in Pretoria shows that about 3.8 million people were HIV-positive in the country, with an HIV-prevalence rate of 15 percent of the adult population.

Statistics SA said there had been much concern about the effectof HIV on fertility in South Africa.

"There is evidence that being HIV-positive lowers fecundity. There are also arguments that behavioral changes among persons who are HIV-positive could lead to either lower or higher fertility," it said.

Because fertility in South Africa had declined significantly from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, the overall impact of HIV on the level of fertility was unlikely to be large in comparison with other factors influencing fertility in the country.

Source: Xinhua