Roughly 1 in 3 males worldwide are circumcised, putting the global prevalence at approximately 38%. That translates to well over a billion men and boys. The practice is nearly universal in some regions and rare in others, shaped largely by religion, cultural tradition, and public health policy.
Global Prevalence by Region
Circumcision rates vary enormously depending on where you look. In countries where Islam or Judaism are the predominant faiths, the rate approaches 100%. Iran, Iraq, Yemen, and the West Bank all report rates of 99% or higher. Israel sits at about 92%. In Muslim-majority Asian countries like Indonesia (93%), Pakistan, and Bangladesh, circumcision is similarly widespread.
Africa presents a mixed picture. North Africa and most of West Africa have near-universal circumcision. Ethiopia (92%), Nigeria (90%), Ghana (85%), Kenya (83%), and Madagascar (98%) all have very high rates. But in parts of southern Africa, prevalence drops sharply. Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe hover around 15%, while South Africa sits at roughly 35%. Since 2007, a major public health push in Eastern and Southern Africa has added more than 27 million voluntary medical circumcisions, driven by evidence that the procedure reduces female-to-male HIV transmission risk by about 60%.
Central and South America have low rates across the board, with no country exceeding 20%.
Rates in Western Countries
Among Western nations, the United States is a clear outlier. About 71% of American men are circumcised, far ahead of any other Western country. After the U.S., the numbers drop quickly: New Zealand at 33%, Australia at 27%, the United Kingdom at 21%, France at 14%, Germany at 11%, Sweden at 5%, Italy at 3%, and Ireland at just 1%.
In the U.K. and most of Europe, circumcision today is largely limited to Muslim and Jewish communities or performed for medical reasons. Australia has seen a generational shift: among men aged 50 to 59, about 66% are circumcised, but among those aged 16 to 19, only 32% are. A similar decline is playing out in other English-speaking countries that adopted routine neonatal circumcision in the mid-20th century and later moved away from it.
United States Trends
The U.S. still circumcises more newborns than any other Western country, but the rate is falling. A Johns Hopkins study reviewing over 1.5 million hospitalizations of male newborns found that the neonatal circumcision rate dropped from 54.1% in 2012 to 49.3% in 2022. That’s nearly a 5-percentage-point decline in a single decade, and it dipped below 50% for the first time.
The decline wasn’t evenly distributed. White newborns saw the biggest drop, falling from 65.3% to 60.0%. Rates among Black newborns held steady at around 65%, and Hispanic newborns remained at about 21%. Asian or Pacific Islander and Native American newborns also saw modest decreases. Families in the highest-income ZIP codes and those with private insurance had the highest circumcision rates overall but also experienced the steepest reductions, falling from 59.4% to 51.1% and 64.2% to 56.3%, respectively.
It’s worth noting that hospital discharge data captures only procedures done during the birth hospitalization. Some circumcisions happen in outpatient clinics, religious ceremonies, or doctors’ offices after discharge. Research comparing hospital records with later health surveys found that these “unrecorded” circumcisions account for a significant share of procedures, meaning actual circumcision rates among American men are higher than hospital data alone would suggest. Community surveys have historically found rates between 76% and 92% for adult men, reflecting decades when the procedure was more common.
Why Rates Differ So Much
Religion is the single biggest driver. Islam and Judaism both prescribe circumcision, and together their adherents account for the majority of circumcised males worldwide. In Muslim-majority countries, rates are nearly universal regardless of geography.
Outside of religious practice, circumcision became a routine medical procedure in the English-speaking world during the early to mid-1900s, largely for perceived hygiene benefits. The U.S. adopted the practice most thoroughly, embedding it in hospital birth protocols. The U.K., Australia, Canada, and New Zealand all scaled back over the following decades as medical bodies concluded the procedure wasn’t medically necessary for most newborns. Canada’s rate has since dropped to around 30%, and Australia’s continues to fall with each generation.
In sub-Saharan Africa, circumcision has gained a distinct public health dimension. Clinical trials showing a roughly 60% reduction in heterosexual HIV transmission led the WHO to recommend voluntary medical male circumcision in high-prevalence areas starting in 2007. That campaign has been one of the largest coordinated circumcision efforts in history.
South Korea and the Philippines are unusual cases. Neither country has a strong religious tradition of circumcision, yet rates are around 60% and 90%, respectively. In South Korea, the practice became widespread after American military influence during and after the Korean War. In the Philippines, circumcision is a deeply rooted cultural rite of passage for adolescent boys.
Safety and Timing
The vast majority of circumcisions happen in the first days or weeks of life, and the complication rate for neonatal procedures is low, slightly under 0.5%. Complications rise substantially when the procedure is done later. Males circumcised between ages 1 and 9 face roughly 20 times the complication rate of newborns, and those circumcised at age 10 or older face about 10 times the newborn rate. The most common complications are minor and include bleeding and localized infection.