About 30-50% of all Australian males are circumcised, a figure reflecting much higher rates in older generations (peaking at ~85% in the 1950s) compared to current rates for newborns, which are around 10-20%, with some sources suggesting slightly higher figures of 15-20% for all males today. Rates vary by age, cultural background (higher in some communities), and location, but the overall trend shows a significant decline from mid-20th-century practices.
However, most medical bodies in developed countries, including in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, take the opposite view. They do not recommend circumcision because they believe that the potential benefits of the procedure are outweighed by the associated risks.
Newborn Circumcision Rates
Today, around 1 in 5 newborn boys in Australia, approximately 20%, undergo circumcision.
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The estimate indicates that circumcision is higher among countries where the Muslim or Jewish faith are commonplace, such as Iran (100 per cent), Iraq (99 per cent), West Bank (99 per cent), Yemen (99 per cent), Indonesia (93 per cent), Syria (93 per cent), and Israel (92 per cent).
However, a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reveals that neonatal male circumcision (NMC) rates in the United States declined nearly 5% in the 10 years following the American Academy of Pediatrics statement in favor of the practice.
For those circumcised (n = 91), the median regret score was 0 (IQR 0–25). For those uncircumcised (n = 28), median regret score was 0 (IQR 0–24). Overall, 55% of both groups reported no regret (DRS = 0), 24% had low-mild regret (DRS 5–25), and 21% yielded moderate-strong regret (DRS 30–100).
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.
During the 2000s, the prevalence of circumcision in men aged 14–59 differed by race: 91 percent of non-Hispanic white men, 76 percent of black men, and 44 percent of Hispanic men (of any race) were circumcised, according to Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
In addition to personal, cultural, and religious aspects associated with the decision, you may have medical questions as well. Circumcision can be done at any age. Traditionally, the most common time to do it is soon after your baby is born, or within the first month of life.
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.
A common reason for parents to not circumcise their baby is their wish for the child to choose when they are older, reflecting current ethical debates on bodily autonomy. Other reasons include concerns about possible safety, risk of bleeding or infection, pain, later sexual function, or other mild complications.
In New Zealand and Australia at the present time, newborn and infant male circumcision is legal and generally considered an ethical procedure, if performed with informed parental consent and by a competent practitioner with provision of adequate analgesia.
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.
Common complications of circumcision include hemorrhage (35%), wound infection (10%), meatitis (8-20%), and UTI (2%) respectively.
It is covered by Medicare
If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you may be able to claim a rebate on your procedure. The rebate for an adult circumcision procedure with a dorsal penile nerve block isis $226, lowering the out-of-pocket costs you'll have to pay.
Among our patients, when asked about pain during circumcision performed under local anesthesia on a scale 1-10 with 1 being no pain, and 10 being the worst pain of your life, more than 90% of patients rate pain as 2-3. Most patients do not take prescribed pain medications or any other pain medications.
Transactions of the American Medical Association. 1870;21:205–11). Since that time, doctors have embraced circumcision for many reasons, citing research that suggests it can reduce rates of sexually transmitted diseases, penile cancer, urinary tract infections and slow the transmission of HIV.
Circumcision might have various health benefits, including:
Traditionally, Zoroastrians do not practice circumcision. Circumcision is not required in Yazidism, but is practised by some Yazidis due to regional customs. Circumcision is forbidden in Mandaeism, and the sign of the Jews given to Abraham by God, circumcision, is considered abhorrent.
Male circumcision is one of the most common procedures in the world. Approximately 40% of the worldwide male population is circumcised, and the prevalence is even higher among male children born in the United States [1,2].
Nationals from non-European countries (mainly America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) were more likely to be circumcised than Scottish men (50.0% and 13.1%, respectively, p<0.001). HIV prevalence was comparable among uncircumcised and circumcised men (4.6% and 4.2%, respectively; table 1).
It depends on the community. We are currently working with a Mennonite community and all the boys that have been born were circumcised. There is an Amish community downstate that doesn't circumcise. So it really depends on the community as to what they practice.
17, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Circumcision rates have declined significantly in the United States, driven in part by parents' distrust of medical advice, a new study says. Circumcision of newborn boys declined from 54% to 49% between 2012 and 2022, according to records from more than 1.5 million U.S. male births.
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].