PID is an extremely common condition among women of reproductive age.

Surveillance data are sparse, but suggest that approximately 8% of U.S. women and 15% of Swedish women are diagnosed with PID in their lifetime, with over one million women treated annually in the U.S. Rates of PID are much higher in developing countries and have been reported to be as high as 32% among Indigenous women in a remote community in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Acute PID may lead to major reproductive and gynecologic morbidity including infertility, CPP, recurrent PID, and ectopic pregnancy.