Most ritual circumcisions in Norway are performed on boys less than one year old, often soon after birth. If a boy who is to be circumcised has reached an age and level of maturity which enables them to understand the information about the operation, the boy himself must be given the information.
Jews would 'cease to exist'
Male circumcision is seen by most Jews as crucial to their religion, and most Muslims also perform the operation. Yet Norway's Jewish and Muslim populations are relatively small, and the procedure is carried out on some 2,000 boys a year only - less than 1 percent of all Norwegian boys.
Sweden (11.8%)
A study on Hypospadias (2016), recruited a control group (i.e. men without Hypospadias) via the Swedish Population Registry, the reported circumcision rate of the controls was 11.8%, mean age was 33.
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.
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.
Like all Christian European nations, Sweden does not practice male circumcision. Muslim and Jewish immigrants, however, have brought their circumcision practices into Sweden. This clash of cultures has created tension and conflict between Swedish human rights principles and the blood rites of foreign religions.
Circumcision is judged to have become medicalised, having been a purely religious rite. However, only about 40 Jewish boys are circumcised in Sweden each year, which is less than 50%, compared with about 3000 Muslim boys.
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.
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.
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).
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.
However, circumcision does not increase the penile size, and a meta-analysis revealed that circumcision does not affect premature ejaculation10.
In some cases, the inner or outer labia are sewn together, leaving only a small hole for the passage of urine and menstrual blood. Genital mutilation can lead to many medical complications. In Norway, all forms of genital mutilation are illegal.
There's no question that among the world's wealthy nations, the U.S. stands out when it comes to circumcision. The WHO estimates that the overall male circumcision rate in the states is somewhere between 76 and 92 percent. Most Western European countries, by contrast, have rates less than 20 percent.
The rate of circumcision in Muslim nations is between 90 and 100 percent. This includes the Christians who form a significant part of some Arab states.
The frequency of circumcision varies from country to country. In New Zealand and Australia the rate is approximately 10-20% of boys but as mentioned above there are significant cultural differences.
In Denmark (~5% circumcised), we examined associations of male circumcision with a range of sexual measures in both sexes.
In China, the nation with the largest population in the world, circumcision is generally treated as a selective medical intervention to treat some diseases; only 2.66% of males have been circumcised, and EIMC is not a traditional practice, except among Muslims, who account for < 3% of the population [14].
The Catholic Church currently maintains a neutral position on the practice of cultural circumcision, as the church has a policy of inculturation.
Slavic Russians are not usually circumcised. Most non-Jewish Russians don't really think much about circumcision. In terms of cleanliness, I should mention that many men are not really good with washing under their foreskins and it creates a very awful smell. Men who are circumcised don't have to worry about that.
How common are Circumcision? 30% of men are circumcised Worldwide. In Ireland, that number is even lower, and this is generally thought to be a result of embarrassment. We aim to change this and to help many thousands of Irish men who are suffering with easily treatable conditions.
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.
Amish who do not practice circumcision have a low rate of autism. Somali immigrants in Sweden practice circumcision and have a high rate of autism compared to Swedish children.