More information about sexual health The prevalence of circumcision varies widely in western countries led by the USA (71 per cent), New Zealand (33 per cent), Australia (27 per cent), the UK (21 per cent), France (14 per cent), Germany (11 per cent), Sweden (5 per cent), Italy (3 per cent) and Ireland (1 per cent).
France (14%)
In France, according to a telephone survey (TNS Sofres Institute, 2008), 14% of men are circumcised.
Circumcision is also standard in the United States and parts of Southeast Asia and Africa, but is rare in Europe, Latin America, and most of Asia. A personal preference in favor of circumcision is more common in Anglophone countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Among the non-circumcising nations are Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia, the U.S.S.R. , China, and Japan. People employing circumcision do so either for "health" reasons or as a religious ritual practiced by Muslims, Jews, most black Africans, non-white Australians, and others.
Circumcision is rare for Christians in the countries of Europe, East Asia, parts of Africa, as well as in India and until recently in Southern Africa. Christians in the East and West Indies (excluding the Philippines) do not practice it either.
In contrast to the United States, baby boys in Germany and other European countries are not routinely circumcised for health reasons. The World Health Organization recommends circumcision as a way to reduce the spread of AIDS, but many doctors in European countries regard the practice as harmful and even barbaric.
As in all other European countries, male circumcision is uncommon in Italy, a country with a strong Catholic heritage that values and promotes the integrity of the human body. The Hebrew minority in Italy is very small, as was the Muslim minority until a decade ago.
Circumcision is not practiced among Italy's Roman Catholic majority.
We found 15.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 14.7 to 17.1) of British men aged 16–44 years reported being circumcised in Natsal 2000. Age specific prevalence was greatest among men aged 40–44 years (19.6%, 95% CI 16.8 to 22.7) compared to those aged 16–19 years (11.7%, 95% CI 9.0 to 15.2).
In Japan, routine male circumcision has never been implemented for newborns and children, and adult males are mostly circumcised at aesthetic clinics. However, media reports indicate a trend of Japanese mothers willing to have their sons circumcised.
German men may differ from one another in many ways, but in one aspect they are strikingly uniform: very few of them are circumcised. This may not come as a shock given the low circumcision rates throughout Europe.
For the longest time, this practice did not draw any attention in Germany, though many Christian and non-believing families here, in contrast to the U.S., do not have their children circumcised. Jewish and Muslim families had no problems getting their boys circumcised.
According to the World Health Organization, circumcision in uncommon in Europe. In fact, it is estimated that worldwide only 20 percent of men are circumcised. Unlike in Europe, circumcision is one of the most common operations in the US. Three-quarters of American adult men in the US are circumcised.
It is not restricted to Jews and Muslims. Many more nations and peoples practice it at lower rates. Uncircumcised Muslims are rare. The rate of circumcision in Muslim nations is between 90 and 100 percent.
The possible medical benefits of circumcision include: A lower risk of HIV. A slightly lower risk of other sexually transmitted diseases. A slightly lower risk of urinary tract infections and penile cancer.
The actual number of circumcised adults is practically unknown, but academic reports sug- gest that 1.5% of Japanese men are circumcised (Van Howe, 2004, p. 596).
More information about sexual health
The prevalence of circumcision varies widely in western countries led by the USA (71 per cent), New Zealand (33 per cent), Australia (27 per cent), the UK (21 per cent), France (14 per cent), Germany (11 per cent), Sweden (5 per cent), Italy (3 per cent) and Ireland (1 per cent).
Circumcision rates have been falling for decades in Canada, with the most recent data cited by the Canadian Paediatric Society pegging it at about 32 per cent in 2009.
But what is also widely agreed upon by both biblical accounts and contemporary evidence is that the Greeks loathed circumcision, with Greek art emphasizing the purity of the human form and the inclusion of foreskins on males. As the Greeks spread their influence in the ancient world, circumcision became less common.
Both Muslims and Jews circumcise their male children. Why is Christianity the only Abrahamic religion that doesn't encourage circumcision? Because Paul believed faith was more important than foreskin. Shortly after Jesus' death, his followers had a disagreement over the nature of his message.
Medical reasons for circumcision
no risk of infants and children getting infections under the foreskin. easier genital hygiene. much lower risk of getting cancer of the penis (although this is a very rare condition and good genital hygiene also seems to reduce the risk.
D., says that roughly 55 percent of the 2 million males born each year in the United States are circumcised, a decline from a high of 79 percent in the 1970s and '80s. Rates in Europe average only 10 percent, and in Denmark, only 1.6 percent of infant males undergo the procedure.
The CDC researchers estimated total circumcision prevalence to be 80.5% (Table 1). Racial differences were apparent: Prevalence was 90.8% in non-Hispanic white, 75.7% in non-Hispanic black, and 44.0% in Mexican American males.
Male circumcision is the removal of the prepuce [1]. It is one of the most common procedures performed in the world and makes up over 10% of pediatric urology cases [2]. An estimated 58.3% of male newborns and 80.5% of males aged 14-59 years in the United States are circumcised [3,4].