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.
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.
Australia has seen a decrease in circumcision rates over the last 70 years or so. 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.
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.
However, in China, MC is not a common practice; less than 5% males are circumcised and many of these procedures were carried to alleviate medical complaints such as tight foreskin [12].
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).
About 80 percent of the world's population do not practice circumcision, nor have they ever done so. Among the non-circumcising nations are Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia, the U.S.S.R. , China, and Japan.
Most boys born in Australia around 1950 were circumcised. Since then, there has been a big move away from circumcision. Now less than 20% of Australian boys are circumcised. The only major western country where circumcision is very common is the United States.
The Royal Australasian College says routine infant circumcision is not warranted in Australia or New Zealand; but it also recognises the procedure continues as a religious or cultural ritual.
Cost of a Circumcision
The price for a circumcision procedure starts from $450 'out of pocket' with Medicare. Your Medicare rebate can be obtained via your myGov account. If your baby does not have a Medicare card, a circumcision starts at $668.
Is male circumcision for babies common in the UK? It's estimated that approximately 20% of males in the UK are circumcised (Morris et al, 2016).
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.
About 9% of men in the UK are now circumcised according to WHO figures (other estimates are slightly higher). Meanwhile in the US, circumcision came to be so widespread, "it became part of how people viewed the normal body," says Gollaher.
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.
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.
Today, the procedure is performed less commonly in New Zealand (estimated at less than 10% of boys), mostly for social, cultural or religious reasons. It is generally agreed among medical professionals that, except in a few instances, there is no medical reason for routine circumcision.
Roman Catholic Church
Pope Pius XII taught that circumcision is only "[morally] permissible if, in accordance with therapeutic principles, it prevents a disease that cannot be countered in any other way."
Conclusion: The highest-quality studies suggest that medical male circumcision has no adverse effect on sexual function, sensitivity, sexual sensation, or satisfaction.
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.
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.
Male circumcision is strongly identified with religion in India. It is only practised among Muslims, who constitute over 13% of the population, which amounts to a large number in a country of over one billion people.
Hispanics in the USA have the lowest rates of circumcision of all ethnic groups and have some of the highest rates of several sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including heterosexual human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.