Circumcision is prevalent among 92% of men in North Africa and around 62% in Sub-Saharan Africa. In western and northern parts of Africa it is mainly performed for religious reasons, whereas in southern parts of Africa it rarely performed in neonates, instead being a rite of passage into manhood.
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.
In many African societies, male circumcision is carried out for cultural reasons, particularly as an initiation ritual and a rite of passage into manhood.
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.
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.
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.
About 1 in 10 newborn boys in Australia undergo circumcision in Australia today. Male circumcision has been performed for religious and cultural reasons for thousands of years. In some cultures and religions, it remains an important religious and cultural ritual.
There are fewer boys being circumcised in Australia and New Zealand in recent years than in the past. Currently, only 10-20% of boys in Australia and less than 10 % of boys in New Zealand are circumcised.
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. There are different methods of circumcision.
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 Britain, circumcision is unusual. In part, this is because of an influential and surprisingly fascinating 1949 paper called The Fate of the Foreskin by Douglas Gairdner in which the Cambridge paediatrician argued strongly against the view prevailing in America that boys are better off without foreskins.
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.
According to the World Health Organization, circumcision is most common in North Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East. In these areas, more than 80% of men and boys are circumcised. Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Korea also have high circumcision rates.
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.
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).
The foreskin is the retractable tube of skin that covers and protects the head (glans) of the penis. All healthy boys are born with a foreskin. A guy who has a penis with a foreskin will need to pull it back and wash underneath it in order to prevent secretions from building up and attracting infection.
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.
It is most common in Jewish and Islamic faiths. In the United States, newborn circumcision is an elective procedure. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that about 64 percent of newborn boys undergo circumcision. However, this number varies among socioeconomic, ethnic, and geographic groups.
This means circumcision in healthy boys might cause more problems than it prevents. Circumcision isn't performed in Australian public hospitals unless it's to treat conditions like repeated UTIs or foreskin problems. Internationally, most major paediatric medical and surgical colleges don't recommend circumcision.
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.
Subincision of the penis is a traditional ritual mutilation unique to the Aborigines, the indigenous people of Australia. The mutilation is a urethrotomy in which the undersurface of the penis is incised and the urethra slit open lengthwise. Subincision is one element in the initiation of Aboriginal youths.
Uncircumcised and circumcised penises both work the same way, they just look a little different. Most uncircumcised people pull their foreskin back when putting on a condom, but that's a matter of personal preference. Bottom line: do what makes you feel the most comfortable.
After its removal, most foreskin is tossed as biological waste — but when they're kept around, the leftover cells have proven a vital asset to medical research. Foreskin-owners or not, most people may not know that the cells have been used since the 1970s to heal stubborn wounds.