This is an overview ofprostitution by region.
Prostitution is illegal in the majority ofAfrican countries.HIV/AIDS infection rates are particularly high among African sex workers.[1]
Nevertheless, it is common, driven by the widespreadpoverty in manysub-Saharan African countries,[2] and is one of the drivers for the prevalence ofHIV/AIDS in Africa.[3] Social breakdown and poverty caused bycivil war in several African countries has caused further increases in the rate of prostitution in those countries. For these reasons, some African countries have also become destinations forsex tourism.
Long-distance truck drivers have been identified as a group with the high-risk behaviour of sleeping with prostitutes and a tendency to spread the infection along trade routes in the region. Infection rates of up to 33% were observed in this group in the late 1980s inUganda,Kenya andTanzania.
| Prostitution in African areas |
|---|
Sovereign states
States with limited recognition Dependencies and other territories |
Legality ofprostitution inthe Americas varies by country. Most countries only legalized prostitution, with the act of exchanging money for sexual services legal. The level of enforcement varies by country.
| Prostitution in North American areas |
|---|
| Sovereign states Dependencies and other territories |
| Prostitution in Central American areas |
| Sovereign states |
| Prostitution in Caribbean areas |
| Sovereign states Dependencies and other territories |
| Prostitution in South American areas |
| Sovereign states Dependencies and other territories |
InAsia, the main characteristic of the region is the very big discrepancy between the laws which exist on the books and what occurs in practice. For example, inThailand prostitution is illegal,[4] but in practice it is tolerated and partly regulated, and the country is a destination forsex tourism. Such situations are common in many Asian countries.
InJapan, prostitution is illegal[5] with the exception of heterosexual, vaginal intercourse. Advertisements that detail what each individual prostitute will do (oral sex, anal sex, etc.) are a common sight in the country, although many prostitutes disregard the law.
InIndia, prostitution is legal only if carried out in theprivate residence of a prostitute or others.[6]
| Prostitution in Asian areas |
|---|
Sovereign states
States with limited recognition Dependencies and other territories |
Compared to other continents, Europe has very diverse laws when it comes to prostitution. The most common legal system in theEuropean Union is that which allows prostitution itself (the exchange of sex for money) but prohibits associated activities (brothels, pimping, etc.). Prostitution remains illegal in most of theex-communist countries ofEastern Europe.
InBelgium, sex work has been decriminalized since 1 June 2022.[7] It is the first country in Europe and the second country in the world (after New Zealand) todecriminalize sex work.
InSweden,[8]Northern Ireland,[9]Norway,[10]Iceland,[11] andFrance[12] it is illegal to pay for sex (theclient commits a crime, but not the prostitute).
In theUnited Kingdom, it is illegal to pay for sex with a prostitute who has been "subjected to force" and this is astrict liability offense (clients can be prosecuted even if they did not know the prostitute was forced), but prostitution itself is legal.[13][14]
InGermany prostitution is legal, as arebrothels.
InFinland,Norway andSwitzerland the right to sell sex is restricted based on citizenship. Illegal immigrants caught selling sex in Finland or Norway may be deported and of foreign citizens onlyEU citizens can get a Swiss prostitution license.
The enforcement of the anti-prostitution laws varies by country.
In Eastern Europe, prostitution was outlawed by the former communist regimes, and most of those countries chose to keep it illegal even after the fall of the Communists. It was only legalized by the former communist countries that joined the European Union (except forLithuania andCroatia, where it remains illegal). It is even regulated in Hungary and Latvia.
Lithuania and Croatia remain the only countries in the European Union where a person providing sexual services is punished. Croatia is the only one in which only a sex worker is criminalized, because Lithuania also criminalizes clients. In Sweden, France and Ireland only clients are punished, while in other countries both the sale and purchase of sexual services is legal.
| Prostitution in European areas |
|---|
Sovereign states
States with limited recognition Dependencies and other territories |
Prostitution in Oceania varies greatly across the region. InAmerican Samoa,prostitution is illegal,[15] whereas inNew Zealand most aspects of the trade aredecriminalised.[16]
| Prostitution in Oceania areas |
|---|
| Sovereign states Associated states of New Zealand Dependencies and other territories |
