One in ten South Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 are HIV positive -- but there is hope, according to the findings of new survey, released on Wednesday.

The 10.2 percent prevalence rate may amount to a stabilisation of infections in that age group, the survey report states. Two other recent studies have found a similar trend, it added.

"But it would be naive to think that is any cause for celebration," head researcher Helen Rees said in a statement.

"The rate of infection among South African youth, particularly young girls, is among the highest in the world. There are persistent behavioural trends, such as multiple sexual partners, that exacerbate the problem."

The survey, conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand's reproductive health research unit, found that young women were more likely to be infected than men. Of the HIV-positive sample, 77 percent were female.

"Nearly one in four women aged 20 to 24 are HIV-positive compared to one in 14 men of the same age."

The HIV prevalence rate among girls and women was 15.5 percent, compared to 4.8 percent among men, the survey found.

The prevalence was higher among 20 to 24-year-olds (16.5 percent) than 15 to 19-year-olds (2.5 percent).

"While rates among teenagers appear to have turned the corner, there is still a sharp rise in infection rates in early adulthood," said Aids awareness group loveLife, who commissioned the study.

"The efforts of HIV prevention targeting teenagers must be supplemented with a more concerted national effort aimed at 20 to 24-year-olds."

KwaZulu-Natal was the province with the highest HIV prevalence at 14.1 percent, while Limpopo had the lowest at 4.8 percent.

"In terms of geographic area, youth living in urban informal areas had the highest HIV prevalence at 17.4 percent."

Other findings included that six percent of young people reported having been physically forced to have sex.

Almost one third of women reported that their first sexual encounter had been unwanted. Male partners were on average four years older, making it difficult for younger women to refuse sex or negotiate condom use.

Young women were having more sex than young men, but were less likely to use condoms, the survey found.

Sixty-seven percent of young people who had sex in the previous 12 months did not use condoms consistently.

According to loveLife, the survey results yielded encouraging signs of movement towards safer sexual behaviour among young people.

"Tentative though it is, this momentum must be sustained if we are to reach a tipping point in the epidemic."

The survey found that 15 percent of young South Africans, mostly in remote areas, were not being reached by any HIV programmes.

The study claims to be the largest ever of its kind. It involved interviews and HIV testing of a nationally representative sample of nearly 12,000 15 to 24-year-olds.

"This is the first survey to have a sufficiently large sample to provide reliable national baselines for HIV prevalence and behavioural trends among young South Africans," the university said - Sapa.