prevalence of circumcision prevalence of circumcision the prevalence of circumcision is the percentage of males in a given population who have been circumcised, with the procedure most commonly being performed as a part of prophylactic healthcare, a religious obligation, or cultural practice. yosha & bolnick & koyle (2012) states that the global incidence of circumcision has risen and seems likely to continue to do so during the "first half of the twenty-first century". map of circumcision prevalence, based on a 2007 who report widespread, near-universal: >80% prevalence widespread, common: 20–80% prevalence uncommon: <20% prevalence n/a since 2010, both the world health organization and joint united nations programme on hiv/aids have been promoting a higher rate of circumcision prevalence as a prophylaxis against hiv transmission and some stis, specifically in areas with high hiv transmission and low circumcision rates. according to hay & levin, 2012, around 50% of all circumcisions worldwide are performed for reasons of prophylactic healthcare, while the other 50% are predominately performed for religious or cultural reasons. overview present rates vary widely, from over 90% in israel and many muslim-majority countries, 86.3% in south korea, to 80% in the united states, to 58% in australia, to 45% in south africa, to 20.7% in the united kingdom, to under 1% in japan and honduras. in 2016, the global prevalence of circumcision was estimated to be around 38%, with notable increases of circumcision prevalence seen in the united states, the middle east; and africa; major medical organizations have promoted a higher rate of circumcision in africa as a preventive against the spread of hiv/aids. in 2020, the world health organization reiterated that it is an efficacious prophylactic intervention in if carried out by medical professionals under safe conditions in areas of high hiv/aids prevalence. current circumcision incidence and prevalence in the united states is approximately 80% due to support from the country's medical community as a prophylactic health intervention against disease. the continent of africa, similarly, has widely adopted the practice as a preventive measure against the spread of hiv. while it has overwhelming prevalence in the muslim world and in israel due to the religious beliefs of most muslims and jews; however, some non-muslim groups living within muslim-majority countries, such as armenians and assyrians, do not practice it. it is prevalent in some muslim-majority countries in southeast asia such as indonesia and malaysia; however, the who states that there is "little non-religious circumcision in asia, with the exceptions of the republic of korea and the philippines". in parts of africa it is often practiced as part of tribal customs from christians, muslims and animists. in contrast, rates are much lower in most of europe, parts of southern africa, most of asia, oceania and latin america, constituting south america, central america, the caribbean and mexico. australia, canada, ireland, new zealand and the united kingdom are examples of countries that have seen a decline in male circumcision in recent decades, while there have been indications of increasing demand in southern africa, partly for preventive reasons due to the hiv epidemic there. africa studies suggest that about 62% of african males are circumcised. however, the rate varies widely between different regions, and among ethnic and religious groups, with muslim north africans practising it for religious reasons, central africans as part of ethnic rituals or local custom, and some traditionally non-circumcising populations in the south recently adopting the practice due to measures by the world health organisation to prevent aids. williams, b.g. et al. commented that: "most of the currently available data on the prevalence of are several decades old, while several of the recent studies were carried out as adjuncts to demographic and health surveys and were not designed to determine the prevalence of male circumcision." prevalence of circumcision in africa country who (2006) williams et al (2006) morris et al (2016) angola>8066 57.5 central african republic20–8067 63 chad>8064 73.5 republic of the congo>8070 70 democratic republic of the congo>8070 97.2 gabon>8093 99.2 burundi<202 61.7 djibouti>8094 96.5 eritrea>8095 97.2 ethiopia>8076 92.2 kenya>8084 91.2 rwanda<2010 13.3 somalia>8093 93.5 sudan20–8047 39.4 tanzania20–8070 72 uganda20–8025 26.7 botswana<2025 15.1 lesotho20–800 52 malawi<2017 21.6 mozambique20–8056 47.4 namibia<2015 25.5 south africa20–8035 44.7 eswatini<2050 8.2 zambia<2012 21.6 zimbabwe<2010 9.2 benin>8084 92.9 burkina faso>8089 88.3 cameroon>8093 94 equatorial guinea>8086 87 gambia>8090 94.5 ghana>8095 91.6 guinea>8083 84.2 guinea-bissau>8091 93.3 côte d'ivoire20–8093 96.7 liberia>8070 97.7 mali>8095 86 mauritania>8078 99.2 niger>8092 95.5 nigeria>8081 98.9 senegal>8089 93.5 sierra leone>8090 96.1 togo>8093 95.2 less than 20% botswana, rwanda, eswatini, zimbabwe. between 20% and 80% angola, burundi, central african republic, chad, congo (rep), lesotho, malawi, mozambique, namibia, south africa, sudan, tanzania, uganda, zambia. south africa it is estimated that 48.7% of males are circumcised in south africa. one national study reported that 54.2% of black africans were circumcised, with 32.1% of those traditionally circumcised and 13.4% circumcised for medical reasons. more than 80% benin, burkina faso, cameroon, congo (dem rep), cote d'ivoire, djibouti, equatorial guinea, eritrea, ethiopia, gabon, gambia, ghana, guinea, guinea-bissau, kenya, liberia, mali, mauritania, niger, nigeria, senegal, sierra leone, somalia, togo. americas less than 20% less than 20% of the population are circumcised in argentina, belize, bolivia, brazil, chile, colombia, costa rica, cuba, dominican republic, el salvador, ecuador, french guiana, guatemala, guyana, haiti, honduras, jamaica, nicaragua, panama, paraguay, peru, saint lucia, the bahamas, trinidad and tobago, uruguay, venezuela. the bahamas the reported circumcision rate for younger individuals (age 15-18) is 16.7% (2019). argentina the circumcision rate among homosexual men in buenos aires is reported to be 13% (2013). brazil the overall prevalence of circumcision is reported to be 6.9%. the reported rate is 13% in rio de janeiro, indicating possible differences between urban and rural rates. colombia the overall prevalence of circumcision is reported to be 6.9%. mexico in 2006 the prevalence of circumcision in mexico was estimated to be 10% to 31%. a recent (2020) hiv study conducted in mexico city found a participant circumcision rate of 23% (255 / 1118). puerto rico in 2012 a random sample of male visitors to a sti center in san juan were surveyed on various topics, the reported circumcision rate was 32.4%. canada rate of neonatal circumcision by province according to the maternity experiences survey in 2006–2007 circumcision in canada followed the pattern of other english speaking countries, with the practice being adopted during the 1900s, to prevent masturbation and other perceived issues of the time, but with the rate of circumcision declining in the latter part of the 20th century, particularly after a new policy position was released in 1975. the canadian paediatric society estimated that, in 1970, 48 percent of males were circumcised. however, studies conducted in 1977–1978 revealed a wide variation in the incidence of circumcision between different provinces and territories. for example, yukon reported a rate of 74.8 percent, while newfoundland reported an incidence of 1.9 to 2.4 percent. the rate continued to drop, with the newborn circumcision rate in ontario in 1994–95 dropping to 29.9%. a survey of canadian maternity practices conducted in 2006/2007, and published in 2009 by the national public health agency, found a newborn circumcision rate of 31.9%. rates varied markedly across the country, from close to zero in newfoundland and labrador to 44.3% in alberta. in 2015, the canadian paediatric society used those statistics in determining the national circumcision rate it currently quotes. a more recent survey conducted in 2011 on expecting couples in saskatchewan (average age 30.3) found the circumcision rate of the male participants to be 61%. table: percentage of mothers reporting having their baby circumcised, by region (2006/07) province/territory % province/territory % alberta 44.3 new brunswick 18.0 ontario 43.7 quebec 12.3 prince edward island 39.2 northwest territories 9.7 saskatchewan 35.6 nova scotia 6.8 canada 31.9 newfoundland and labrador * manitoba 31.6 nunavut * british columbia 30.2 yukon * * numerator too small for rate calculation united states as of 2014, an estimated 80.5% of american men are circumcised, and the prevalence of the procedure is considered to be near-universal in the country. after favorable statements on circumcision were published by major medical organizations in the united states, including a 2012 statement on circumcision by the american academy of pediatrics (aap) and a 2014 statement by the centers of disease control and prevention (cdc), the incidence of circumcision in the united states has likely risen. the cdc has calculated the present rate of circumcision in the united states to be 81%; morris et al. found a somewhat lower present incidence of 77% in 2010. during the 2000s, the prevalence of circumcision in men aged 14–59 differed by race: 91 percent of non-hispanic white men, 76 percent of black men, and 44 percent of hispanic men (of any race) were circumcised, according to mayo clinic proceedings. wolters kluwer estimated that closer to 80% of males in 2021 were circumcised. medicaid funding for infant circumcision used to be available in every state, but starting with california in 1982, 18 states (arizona, california, colorado, florida, idaho, louisiana, maine, minnesota, mississippi, missouri, montana, nevada, north carolina, north dakota, oregon, south carolina, utah, and washington) had eliminated medicaid coverage of routine circumcision by july 2011. one study in the midwest of the u.s. found that this had no effect on the newborn circumcision rate but it did affect the demand for circumcision at a later time. another study, published in early 2009, found a difference in the neonatal male circumcision rate of 24% between states with and without medicaid coverage. the study was controlled for other factors such as the percentage of hispanic patients. the cdc uses two data sources to track circumcision rates. the first is the national health and nutrition examination survey (nhanes), which records circumcisions performed at any time at any location. the second is the national hospital discharge survey (nhds), which does not record circumcisions performed outside the hospital setting or those performed at any age following discharge from the birth hospitalization. methodologically flawed calculations throughout the 2000s and 2010s showed the rate decreasing off of these statistics, but this data is believed to be misleading due to an increasing trend of performing neonatal circumcisions outside of hospitals, a trend not reflected in hospital discharge data. circumcision was the second-most common procedure performed on patients under one year of age, after routine inoculations and prophylactic vaccinations. there are various explanations for why the infant circumcision rate in the united states is different from comparable countries. many parents' decisions about circumcision are preconceived, which may contribute to the high rate of elective circumcision. brown & brown (1987) reported the most correlated factor is whether the father is circumcised. asia less than 20% armenia, bhutan, burma, china, cambodia, hong kong, india, japan, laos, mongolia, nepal, north korea, papua new guinea, singapore, sri lanka, taiwan, thailand, vietnam. india according to the national family health survey (nfhs-4) the overall circumcision rate in india is 16%. china the overall prevalence of circumcision in china is reported to be 14%. hong kong a sample of children aged < 12 found a circumcision rate of 3.4% (1982). a survey on men who regularly visit female sex workers from 2012 found a circumcision rate of 28%. singapore the prevalence of circumcision in singapore is estimated to be 14.9%. taiwan it is estimated that the circumcision rate for men aged 20–40 is between 10 and 15%. cambodia the overall prevalence of circumcision in cambodia is reported to be 3.5%. between 20% and 80% indonesia, kazakhstan, malaysia, and south korea. south korea circumcision is largely a modern-day phenomenon in south korea. while during the twentieth century the rate of circumcision increased to around 80%, virtually no circumcision was performed prior to 1945, as it was against korea's long and strong tradition of preserving the body as a gift from parents. a 2001 study of 20-year-old south korean men found that 78% were circumcised. at the time, the authors commented that "south korea has possibly the largest absolute number of teenage or adult circumcisions anywhere in the world. because circumcision started through contact with the american military during the korean war, south korea has an unusual history of circumcision." according to a 2002 study, 86.3% of south korean males aged 14–29 were circumcised. in 2012, it is the case of 75.8% of the same age group. only after 1999 has some information against circumcision become