Prostitution statistics by country

In 2012 it was estimated that there were between 40 and 42 million prostitutes in the world.[1] The list of countries below provides an estimate for the number of people working as prostitutes in each country.

Methodology

There are a number of difficulties involved in collecting meaningful prostitution statistics. For example, the greater visibility of some forms of prostitution, such as street prostitution, makes statistics on these forms easier to collect. However, in some countries street prostitution forms a much smaller part of the sex industry than indoor prostitution. Similarly sex workers with health, addiction and other support needs are more likely to be known to the authorities and hence easier for researchers to contact, but may not be representative of prostitution as a whole. National Ugly Mugs, a support organisation for sex workers in the United Kingdom, has identified several factors making it difficult to collect statistics for the sex industry, including low response rates, the small scale of research compared to the size of the sex industry, and the diversity of the industry. As a result published statistics are often conflicting and contested.[2]

In countries where prostitution is illegal, the use of arrest data to create general prostitution statistics can be misleading. The majority of prostitutes are never arrested, and those who are can often be charged with other offences instead. Class bias may be introduced into the statistics as a result of police officers being more likely to arrest street prostitutes than high-class call girls. In comparing one area with another there may be differences in the definition of a crime, the police enforcement rate, and the possibility of the inflation of arrest figures or the under-reporting of crime.[3]

Due to the unregulated and often illegal nature of the work, only estimates are available for the number of prostitutes in a country. The numbers for a country can vary considerably dependent on the source. Some countries' numbers may suffer from poor methodology. In other cases, results may be influenced by whether the organisation producing the numbers is for or against the nature of the work. Where available, figures are taken from Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS 2016 "Sex Workers: Size Estimates."

Numbers of prostitutes
CountryNumber of prostitutes
Source: UNAIDS 2016
Sex Workers: Size Estimates
[4]
Number of prostitutes
Other sources and year
Population[5]Prevalence
(prostitutes per
10,000 population)
Afghanistan13,00034,656,0324
Albania5,000 - 30,000 (2006)[6]2,926,34817 - 103
AlgeriaNo data40,606,052-
Angola33,00028,813,46312
Antigua and Barbuda755100,96375
Argentina75,00043,847,43018
Armenia5,6002,924,81617
Australia21,00024,125,8489
Austria 30,000 (2013)[7]8,712,13734
Azerbaijan25,0009,725,37626
Bahamas3,035391,23278
Bahrain13,500 (2007)[8]1,425,17195
Bangladesh140,000162,951,5609
Belarus22,0009,480,04223
Belgium26,000 (2015)[9]11,358,37923
Benin15,00010,872,29814
Bhutan400 - 500 (2017)[10]797,7655 - 6
Bolivia31,00010,887,88229
Bosnia and Herzegovina4,0003,516,81611
Botswana4,2002,250,26019
Brazil550,000207,652,86526
Bulgaria10,0007,131,49414
Burkina Faso31,00018,646,43317
Burundi51,00010,524,11749
Cambodia34,00015,762,37022
Cameroon110,00023,439,18947
CanadaNo data36,289,822-
Cape Verde1,400539,56026
Central African Republic7824,594,6212
Chad1,20014,452,5431
ChileNo data17,909,754-
China2,800,000 - 4,500,000 (2010)[11]1,403,500,36514 - 32
Colombia7,20048,653,4192
Comoros200795,6013
CongoNo data5,125,821-
Costa Rica15,000 (unknown)[12]4,857,27431
Croatia21,066 (2006)[13]4,213,26550
Cuba89,00011,475,98278
CyprusNo data1,170,125-
Czech Republic13,00010,610,94712
Democratic Republic of the Congo2,900,00078,736,153368
Denmark6,000 (2009)[14]5,711,87011
Djibouti2,900942,33331
Dominican Republic60,000 - 100,000 (2013)[15]10,648,79156 - 94
East Timor1,7001,268,67113
Ecuador34,00016,385,06821
Egypt23,00095,688,6812
El Salvador20,0006,344,72232
Equatorial Guinea5,8001,221,49041
Eritrea1,6004,954,6453
Estonia1,0001,312,4427
Ethiopia19,000102,403,1962
Federated States of Micronesia290104,93729
Fiji857898,76010
Finland4,000 (2009)[14]5,503,1327
France30,000 (2018)[16]64,720,6905
Gabon3681,979,7862
Gambia3,1002,038,50115
Georgia6,5003,925,40517
Germany300,000 (2009)[14]81,914,67237
Ghana52,00028,206,72818
Greece10,500 –15,000 (2009)[14]11,183,7169 - 13
Guatemala26,00016,582,46916
Guinea8,40012,395,9247
Guinea-Bissau3,1001,815,69817
Guyana5,300773,30369
Haiti70,00010,847,33465
Honduras23,0009,112,86725
Hungary20,000 - 25,000 (2006)[17]9,753,28121 - 26
India660,0001,324,171,3545
Indonesia230,000261,115,4569
Iran91,500 (2015)[18]80,277,42811
IraqNo data37,202,572-
Ireland1,0004,726,0782
Israel12,000 (2015)[19]8,191,82815
Italy60,000 (2009)[14]59,429,93810
Ivory Coast9,20023,695,9194
Jamaica19,0002,881,35566
JapanNo data127,748,513-
JordanNo data9,455,802-
Kazakhstan19,00017,987,73611
Kenya130,00048,461,56727
Kiribati114114,39510
KuwaitNo data4,052,584-
Kyrgyzstan7,1005,955,73412
Laos13,0006,758,35319
Latvia29,558 (2006)[13]1,970,530150
Lebanon4,2006,006,6687
Lesotho6,3002,203,82129
Liberia1,8004,613,8232
LibyaNo data6,293,253-
Lithuania1,000 – 3,000 (unknown)[20]2,908,2493 - 10
Luxembourg300 (2009)[14]575,7475
Macedonia3,6002,081,20617
Madagascar170,00024,894,55168
Malawi9,30018,091,5755
Malaysia21,00031,187,2657
Maldives1,139 (2013)[21]427,75627
Mali36,00017,994,83720
Marshall Islands25053,06647
Mauritania3154,301,0181
Mauritius6,2001,262,13249
Mexico240,000127,540,42319
Moldova12,0004,059,60830
Mongolia1,3003,027,3984
Morocco75,00035,276,78621
Mozambique14,00028,829,4765
Myanmar66,00052,885,22313
Namibia8,1002,479,71333
Nepal67,00028,982,77123
Netherlands25,00016,987,33015
New Zealand5,932 (2005)[22]4,660,83313
Nicaragua18,0006,149,92829
Niger47,00020,672,98723
Nigeria100,000185,989,6405
North Korea25,000 (2014)[23]25,368,62010
Norway3,000 (2009)[14]5,254,6946
OmanNo data4,424,762-
Pakistan230,000193,203,47612
PalestineNo data4,790,705-
Panama5,2004,034,11913
Papua New GuineaNo data8,084,991-
Paraguay3,4006,725,3085
Peru67,00031,773,83921
Philippines150,000103,320,22215
Poland19,000 (unknown)[12]38,224,4105
Portugal 28,000 (2005)[24]10,371,62727
QatarNo data2,569,804-
Romania15,8225 (2006)[13]19,778,08380
Russia1,000,000 - 3,000,000 (2016)[25]143,964,51370 - 208
Rwanda12,00011,917,50810
Samoa400195,12521
São Tomé and Príncipe89199,9105
Saudi ArabiaNo data32,275,687-
Senegal21,00015,411,61414
Serbia3,9008,820,0834
Seychelles58694,22862
Sierra Leone240,0007,396,190325
SingaporeNo data5,622,455-
Slovakia 21,777 (2006)[13]5,444,21840
Slovenia29,090 (2006)[13]2,077,862140
Somalia11,00014,317,9967
South Africa24,00056,015,4734
South Korea500,000 - 1,000,000 (2013)[26]50,791,91998 - 197
South Sudan5,00012,230,7304
Spain70,00046,347,57615
Sri Lanka14,00020,798,4927
Sudan210,00039,578,82853
Suriname2,200558,36839
Swaziland4,0001,343,09830
Sweden2,500 (2009)[14]9,837,5333
Switzerland20,0008,401,73924
Syria25,00018,430,45314
Taiwan100,000 (2011)[27]23,556,70643
Tajikistan14,0008,734,95116
Tanzania160,00055,572,20129
Thailand150,00068,863,51422
Togo10,0007,606,37413
Tonga1,000107,12293
Tunisia25,00011,403,24822
Turkey100,000+ (2016)[28]79,512,42613+
Turkmenistan5,663 (2006)[13]5,662,54410
Tuvalu1011,0979
Trinidad and Tobago1000 (2016)1,353,8957.3
UgandaNo data41,487,965-
Ukraine80,00044,438,62518
United Arab Emirates30,000 (unknown)[12]9,269,61232
United Kingdom72,800 (2016)[29]65,788,57411
United States 1,000,000 (2010)[30]322,179,60531
Uruguay8,2003,444,00624
Uzbekistan22,00031,446,7957
Vanuatu2,000270,40274
Venezuela473,523 (2006)[13]31,568,179150
Vietnam72,00094,569,0727
Yemen54,00027,584,21320
Zambia9,30016,591,3906
Zimbabwe12,383 (2013)[31]16,150,3628

References

  1. Gus Lubin (17 January 2012). "There Are 42 Million Prostitutes In The World, And Here's Where They Live". Business Insider. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  2. Home Affairs Committee (15 June 2016). Prostitution: Third Report of Session 2016–17 (PDF) (Report). House of Commons. pp. 8–9.
  3. Flowers, Ronald B. (1998). The Prostitution of Women and Girls. McFarland. p. 15. ISBN 9780786404902.
  4. "Sex workers: Population size estimate - Number, 2016". www.aidsinfoonline.org. UNAIDS. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  5. "Total Population - Both Sexes". World Population Prospects, the 2017 Revision. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, Population Estimates and Projections Section. June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  6. "Sex Work in Albania – an Overview". SWAN. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  7. "Austria: Discriminations against Sex Workers in the Rights to Work and to Health". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. November 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  8. Shaw, Susan M.; Barbour, Nancy Staton; Duncan, Patti; Freehling-Burton, Kryn; Nichols, Jane (December 2017). Women's Lives around the World: A Global Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 26. ISBN 978-1610697118.
  9. Vlassenbroeck, Julien (18 May 2015). "Plus de 20 000 prostituées soumises à l'exploitation en Belgique". RTBF Info (in French). Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  10. Pem, Damchoe (29 July 2017). "400 to 500 possible sex workers in Bhutan - The Bhutanese". The Bhutanese. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  11. "Sex Work & HIV - China" (PDF). Aids Data Hub. August 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 "Number of Prostitutes by Country - Havocscope". Havocscope. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vandepitte, J; Lyerla, R; Dallabetta, G; Crabbé, F; Alary, M; Buvé, A (2006). "Estimates of the number of female sex workers in different regions of the world". Sexually Transmitted Infections. 82 (Suppl 3): iii18–iii25. doi:10.1136/sti.2006.020081. PMC 2576726. PMID 16735288.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "How many Prostitutes?". Exeter University. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  15. "10 Of The Most Popular Destinations For Sex Tourism". The Richest. 21 June 2014. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  16. "France 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  17. "Report on the demand side of sexual services in Hungary" (PDF). ICCR-Budapest Foundation. September 2006. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  18. Sharifi, Hamid; Karamouzian, Mohammad; Baneshi, Mohammad Reza; Shokoohi, Mostafa; Haghdoost, AliAkbar; McFarland, Willi; Mirzazadeh, Ali (10 August 2017). "Population size estimation of female sex workers in Iran: Synthesis of methods and results". PLoS ONE. 12 (8): e0182755. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0182755. PMC 5552099. PMID 28796847.
  19. "12,000 women work in prostitution in Israel, gov't says". Times of Israel. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  20. "Lithuania". SWAN. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  21. "National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS" (PDF). Ministry of Health Republic of Maldives. 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  22. "The Nature and Extent of the Sex Industry in New Zealand: An Estimation" (PDF). Prostitution Law Review Committee. April 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  23. Hyams, James (4 February 2015). "Does North Korea have sex trade and drug problem?". The Korea Observer. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  24. João Saramago, Estrangeiras dominam prazer, Correio da Manhã (17th March 2005)
  25. Alexeeva, Anna (14 July 2017). ""Я одинок, но это уже привычка". Монологи жиголо". Snob (in Russian). Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  26. Ghosh, Palash (29 April 2013). "South Korea: A Thriving Sex Industry In A Powerful, Wealthy Super-State". International Business Times. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  27. Hsu, Jenny W. (16 November 2011). "The Trouble With Taiwan's New Prostitution Rules". WSJ. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  28. "Academic highlights high prostitution figures in Turkey's $4 billion industry". Hürriyet Daily News. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  29. "Prostitution" (PDF). House of Commons Home Affairs Committee. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  30. Gus Lubin (17 January 2012). "There Are 42 Million Prostitutes In The World, And Here's Where They Live". Business Insider. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  31. "12 383 sex workers register". The Herald. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.