It also provides information from State inmates reporting on their personal characteristics and how these relate to HIV test results. Nationwide, prison authorities in 1991 reported that 2.2 percent of those confined in State and Federal facilities had tested positive for HIV. That same year, in a nationally representative sample survey of State prisoners, 2.2 percent were estimated to be HIV- positive, based on interviews with prisoners. These comparable rates suggest that important and useful information about HIV exposure can be reliably obtained from inmates. Jail and prison inmates are at greater risk than others of contracting AIDS because of their comparatively high rates of drug abuse. Tables and methodological information