100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies

Below are 100 countries' policies on prostitution, brothel ownership, and pimping. These countries were chosen in order to be inclusive of major religions, geographical regions, and policies towards prostitution. Taiwan and Scotland were included in the country listings for China and the United Kingdom, respectively, in accordance with the country listings and population estimates provided in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. Whenever possible, we have included government documents regarding prostitution such as laws, court decisions, employment information, etc. under the name of the country. While reasonable efforts have been made to assure the accuracy of the data provided, do not rely on this information without first checking an official edition of the applicable law. This page was last updated Nov. 4, 2009.

Legal in 50 (50%); Limited Legality in 11 (11%); Illegal in 39 (39%); Total: 100 (100%)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

Afghanistan Albania Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Belize Bolivia Brazil Bulgaria Cambodia Canada Chile China (including Taiwan) Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus

26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.

Czech Republic Denmark Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Estonia Ethiopia Finland France Germany Greece Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Hungary
Iceland

51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75.

India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland

Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kenya Korea, North Korea, South Kyrgyzstan Latvia Liberia Lithuania Luxembourg Malaysia Malta Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Norway Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland

76. 77. 78. 79.

80. 81.

82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93.

94. 95. 96.

97.

Portugal Romania Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and Grenadines Saudi Arabia Senegal Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Suriname Sweden Switzerland Thailand Trinidad and Tobago Turkey Uganda United Arab Emirates United Kingdom(including
Scotland)

98. 99.

United States Uruguay

100.

Venezuela

74.Philippines Prostitution: Illegal "Bar girls" must register and have health checks.
Population: 97,976,603

Brothel Ownership: Illegal Pimping: Illegal

"'Hey, Joe,' they shout at passing men, much the way another generation of prostitutes once shouted to 'GI Joes' at the former Clark Air Force Base across the street from the red-light district. Neon lights, strip joints, 'girlie' bars and 1950s-style hotels jam together as pop music blares from the clubs. For more than 100 years, this area has been a capital of prostitution and hedonism, dating back to a time when the women were called 'camp followers.'... Nursing and teaching, more traditional women's work in the Philippines, pay a fraction of the sums these women can make. That is, if their pimps allow them to keep their money. A University of the Philippines study in the late 1990s estimated there were about a half-million prostitutes in the country."
Mike Comerford, "A Look at Life in the Red-light District," Daily Herald, Apr. 17, 2005

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