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.
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 and circumcision has traditionally been practised.
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.
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.
Back in the 1950s, roughly 80 per cent of Australian men and boys were circumcised. That rate has steadily decreased and now, around 20 per cent of Australian newborns are circumcised. This is largely due to developments in modern medicine.
Certain Hindu gurus consider it to be directly against nature and God's design. Sikh infants are not circumcised. Sikhism does not require circumcision of either males or females, and criticizes the practice.
China. The overall prevalence of circumcision in China is reported to be 14%.
Thailand has some experience with circumcision as Muslim boys are circumcised in a pre-adolescent religious ritual. In addition, for-profit hospitals that cater to a foreign and wealthy clientele provide NMC [17]. However, the majority (~ 90%) Buddhist population does not practice either MC or child circumcision.
However, only 2.66% of men are circumcised in China usually because of a tight foreskin; circumcision is generally performed in adulthood or childhood, but not at the time of birth [14].
In Australia today, fewer than 20 per cent of boys are circumcised. When considering circumcision for your child, you should be aware of the possible risks and benefits. Circumcision may offer health benefits, although these may be too small to justify surgery.
Peer pressure was also an important contributing factor. Conclusion: South Korea has an unusual history of circumcision. The mistaken and out-dated notions about circumcision and lack of knowledge of phimosis by physicians seem to be a leading contributory factor to the extraordinarily high circumcision rate.
The percentage of boys circumcised in the last decade was only 25.2%, which is a dramatic decrease compared to the 75.7% reported in 2002. This result strongly suggests that the majority of currently circumcised males underwent the procedure prior to 2002.
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.
At the start of Korean circumcision, nearly all procedures were performed on adults. Therefore, it is possible that simply by habit, the operation is generally performed mostly on older males and not on infants. Currently, many Korean doctors tend to recommend circumcision mostly at the onset of puberty.
In the Philippines, circumcision, or tuli, is performed in most Filipino boys. Tuli is considered a rite of passage into manhood. The origins of this tradition are unclear, yet it is an essential social aspect in the Filipino community.
Circumcision for Samoan boys could be described as a tradition and in fact, almost a rite of passage. In fact in some circumstances, it has also been described as shameful if a male has not been circumcised. And in Tonga, Niue and Tikopia, it is also very much an accepted practice.
Although male circumcision has been largely a preventative method against disease, in Japanese settings the surgery is sold as a means to regain control of the body and enhance self-confidence.
At the start of Korean circumcision, nearly all procedures were performed on adults. Therefore, it is possible that simply by habit, the operation is performed mostly on older males and not on infants. Currently, many Korean doctors tend to recommend circumcision mostly at the onset of puberty.
Circumcision, which rarely occurs in Vietnam, was associated with a 2 mm reduced penis length. Discussion: Findings on correlations between penile dimensions and somatometric parameters from previous studies are questionable and some measurements, such as glans dimension, have not been thoroughly investigated so far.
In Singapore, circumcision is quite popular. Young boys and men opt for it due to both personal as well as medical reasons. That's why circumcision is commonly practiced in circumcision clinic in Singapore.
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 is not practiced among Italy's Roman Catholic majority. Many immigrants in Italy are Muslim and practice circumcision for cultural and religious reasons, but sometimes have trouble accessing the practice in hospitals. For some, the hospital costs are too high.
Eventually, the foreskin should be retracted far enough during urination to see the meatus (the hole where the urine comes from). This prevents urine from building up beneath the foreskin and possibly causing an infection. As long as the foreskin doesn't easily retract, only the outside needs to be cleaned.
European countries consider newborn circumcision an unnecessary surgical procedure which increases the costs of operating nationalised health systems, whereas in the US, circumcision is generally considered a simple, rapid operation with medical benefits which accrue throughout life.