About 49% of newborn boys in the United States are circumcised during their birth hospitalization, based on a Johns Hopkins analysis of over 1.5 million hospital records from 2012 to 2022. That number has been falling steadily: it was 64.5% in 1979, 58.3% in 2010, 54.1% in 2012, and 49.3% by 2022. Globally, roughly one in three males is circumcised, with rates varying enormously by country, region, and religion.
U.S. Rates Over Time
The United States has seen a consistent downward trend in newborn circumcision over the past four decades. CDC data tracking hospital circumcisions from 1979 through 2010 found a 10% overall decline nationally, from 64.5% to 58.3%. More recent hospital data from Johns Hopkins shows the slide continued, dropping from 54.1% in 2012 to 49.3% in 2022. For the first time, the procedure is no longer performed on a majority of newborn boys in the country.
Several factors are driving the decline. Immigration patterns have shifted the demographic makeup of the U.S., particularly in western states, where families from Latin American and Asian backgrounds are less likely to circumcise. Insurance also plays a role: states that dropped Medicaid coverage for the procedure saw lower circumcision rates, putting cost pressure on lower-income families. And cultural attitudes have shifted, with more parents questioning whether a surgical procedure on a newborn is necessary when it isn’t medically urgent.
Stark Differences by U.S. Region
National averages mask huge geographic variation. Hospital data from 2009 shows the Midwest had the highest newborn circumcision rate at 75.2%, followed by the Northeast at 67.0% and the South at 55.7%. The West was a dramatic outlier at just 24.6%, meaning roughly three out of four newborn boys in western hospitals left uncircumcised.
The West’s decline has been the steepest of any region. In 1979, its circumcision rate was 63.9%, nearly identical to the national average. By 2010, it had fallen 37% to 40.2%, and by 2009 hospital discharge data it sat at 24.6%. California, with its large Latino and Asian populations and its decision to drop Medicaid coverage for circumcision, is a major driver of this regional gap.
Global Rates Vary Widely
Outside the United States, circumcision rates are shaped almost entirely by religion and, in parts of Africa, public health campaigns. About half of all circumcisions worldwide are performed for religious or cultural reasons.
In Muslim-majority countries, the practice is nearly universal. Iran, Iraq, and Yemen report rates of 99% to 100%. Indonesia is at 93%. In Israel, where Jewish religious law calls for circumcision on the eighth day of life, the rate is 92%.
Most of Western Europe, by contrast, has rates in the single digits. Italy sits at 2.6%, Norway at 3%, Denmark at 5.3%, and Sweden at 5.1%. The Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland all hover around 5% to 6%. Even the United Kingdom, which practiced routine circumcision through the mid-20th century, has dropped to about 20.7%. Australia, which followed a similar trajectory, is at 26.6%. France is at 14%, and Germany at about 11%. The circumcisions that do occur in these countries are largely within Muslim and Jewish communities.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s Rising Rates
Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the few regions where circumcision rates are climbing. After large clinical trials in the 2000s found that circumcision reduced the risk of heterosexual HIV transmission by roughly 60%, the World Health Organization began promoting voluntary medical male circumcision in high-prevalence countries. The overall prevalence in the region rose from about 40% during 2010 to 2015 to 56% during 2016 to 2023.
Some countries have seen dramatic jumps. Rwanda went from 13.3% in 2010 to 52.5% by 2019 to 2020. Lesotho leapt from 5.3% in 2009 to 72% in 2014. Botswana rose from 12.5% in 2008 to over 50% by 2016. Kenya (93%), Ethiopia (92%), and Tanzania (80%) have exceeded the WHO’s 80% coverage target, though in Ethiopia and Kenya, high rates predate HIV-related campaigns and reflect longstanding cultural practices.
Why Parents Choose or Decline
For families making this decision, the reasons tend to fall into three categories. Medical considerations come first for many: circumcision reduces the risk of urinary tract infections in the first two years of life, lowers the lifetime risk of penile cancer, prevents foreskin conditions like phimosis, and is associated with lower rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. The American Academy of Pediatrics stated in its 2012 policy that the health benefits outweigh the risks, though it stopped short of recommending routine circumcision for all newborns, leaving the decision to parents.
Social and family norms are the second major factor. Many parents want their son to “match” his father or other male relatives. In communities where circumcision is common, the desire to avoid looking different can carry real weight. In places where the practice has become uncommon, the pressure reverses, and uncircumcised boys are the norm.
Religious tradition is the third driver, and it’s the most consistent one globally. For Jewish and Muslim families, circumcision carries deep spiritual significance that operates independently of medical evidence or social trends.
Parents who decline typically cite bodily autonomy, the belief that the procedure should be the child’s own choice later in life, or a feeling that removing healthy tissue without medical necessity isn’t justified. Some are concerned about pain and surgical risks, which, while low (complication rates for newborn circumcision are typically under 1%), are not zero.
What the Numbers Mean in Practice
If you’re a parent in the U.S. making this decision today, the practical reality is that your son will be in good company either way. With rates hovering near 50-50 nationally, neither choice will make him unusual in a locker room or a doctor’s office. That’s a meaningful shift from a generation ago, when being uncircumcised in most of the country was uncommon. In the Midwest, circumcision is still the clear majority choice. In the West, it’s the minority. Where you live, your family’s background, and your insurance coverage all shape what’s “normal” in your community more than any national average does.