Circumcision

Circumcision is the removal of some or all of the foreskin (prepuce). The frenulum may also be removed at the same time, in a procedure called frenectomy. The word circumcision comes from Latin circum (meaning "around") and caedere (meaning "to cut"). Female circumcision is a term applied to a variety of procedures performed on the female genitalia. Except where specified, "circumcision" in this article should be taken as "male circumcision". Some opponents of this practice use the term male genital mutilation (MGM).

Prevalence of circumcision worldwide

Estimates of the proportion of males that are circumcised worldwide vary from one sixthhttp://www.cirp.org/library/complications/williams-kapila/ to one thirdhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12503896.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Except for Jews and Muslims, most males are not circumcised in:

Related Topics:
Jews - Muslim

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

: India, South-East Asia, China, Europe and Latin America.

Related Topics:
India - South-East Asia - China - Europe - Latin America

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The majority of males are circumcised in the following countries, in most of which the predominant religion is Islam, which endorses circumcision:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, "Somaliland", Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.

Related Topics:
Afghanistan - Albania - Algeria - Azerbaijan - Bahrain - Bangladesh - Benin - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Cameroon - Chad - Comoros - Djibouti - Egypt - Eritrea - Ethiopia - Gabon - Gambia - Ghana - Guinea - Indonesia - Iran - Iraq - Israel - Kazakhstan - Kenya - Kuwait - Lebanon - Libya - Madagascar - Malaysia - Maldives - Mali - Mauritania - Morocco - Nigeria - Niger - Oman - Pakistan - Qatar - Republic of the Congo - Saudi Arabia - Sierra Leone - Somalia - Somaliland - Sudan - Syria - Tajikistan - Tunisia - Turkey - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - Turkmenistan - United Arab Emirates - Uzbekistan - Yemen

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In other countries where circumcision predominates it is endorsed by religion (Israel) or by local custom or tradition:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Philippines, Samoa, South Africa, South Korea, Togo, Tonga, The United States and Vanuatu

Related Topics:
Philippines - Samoa - South Africa - South Korea - Togo - Tonga - The United States - Vanuatu

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

United States

Statistics from different sources give a somewhat different picture of the prevalence of circumcision in the United States.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The National Center for Health Statistics stated that the overall rate of neonatal circumcision was 64.3% in 1979 and 65.3% in 1999. However, the rate for white infants was 0.3% lower in 1999 than 1979 and the circumcision rate for black infants increased by 6.5% over this time http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/circumcisions/circumcisions_race.htm. Also, strong regional differences developed. In the West, circumcision declined from 63.9% to 36.7%, but this was counterbalanced by rises in the Midwest and South. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/circumcisions/circumcisions_region.htm The decline in the West has been partly attributed to increasing births among Latin Americans, who usually do not circumcise http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/circumcisions/circumcisions.htm.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A recent study, which used data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (a sample of 5-7 million of the nation's total inpatient stays, and representing a 20% sample taken from 8 states in 1988 and 28 in 2000), stated that circumcisions rose from 48.3% in 1988 to 61.1% in 1997.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15711354

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Figures from the Nationwide Hospital Discharge Survey (a sample of 270,000 inpatient stays), state that circumcision rates declined from 64.7% in 1980 to 59.0% in 1990, then rose to 64.1% in 1995, and fell again to 60.1% in 2002. Overall, the West saw the most significant change, declining from 61.8% in 1980 to 32.6% in 2002 (see Table 43, page 51 of the National Hospital Discharge Survey, 2002) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_13/sr13_158.pdf].

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sixteen states no longer pay for the procedure under Medicaid http://www.circumstitions.com/Images/map-usa-notfund.gif. One study in the Midwest of the US found that this had no effect on the newborn circumcision rate but it did affect the demand for circumcision at a later time.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=14501653

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~