A statistical snapshot

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting:

A statistical overview and exploration of the dynamics of change

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 How widespread is the practice of FGM/C?
FGM/C is concentrated in a swath of countries from the Atlantic Coast to the Horn of
Africa, with wide variations in the percentage of girls and women cut, both within and
across countries
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C, by country and regions within countries

Iraq
8
Iraq
8
Egypt
91
Egypt
91 Senegal
26 Mauritania Mali
Senegal 69 89 Niger Sudan
Mauritania Mali 2 Chad Yemen
26 Niger Gambia 88 23
69 89 Sudan 44
2 Chad Yemen 76
Gambia 44 88 23 Guinea- Nigeria Ethiopia Somalia
76 Bissau 27 Central
Guinea- Nigeria 50 74 98
Ethiopia Somalia Sierra African Republic
Bissau 27 Central Cameroon 24
50 74 98 Guinea Leone 1
Sierra African Republic Uganda Djibouti
Cameroon 24 96 88
Guinea Leone 1 Kenya 93
1 Uganda 27
96 88 Djibouti Liberia Eritrea
1 Kenya 93 66 United 89
Liberia 27 Eritrea
Burkina Togo Benin
Cte Faso 4 13 Republic
66 Burkina Togo Benin United 89 76 Ghana of Tanzania
Republic d'Ivoire
Cte Faso 4 13 38 4 15
d'Ivoire 76 Ghana of Tanzania
38 4 15

Above 80%
51% - 80%
Above 80% 26% - 50%
51% - 80% 10% - 25%
26% - 50% Less than 10%
10% - 25% FGM/C is not concentrated
Less than 10% in these countries
FGM/C is not concentrated
in these countries

Notes: This map is stylized and not to scale. It does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. The final boundary between the Republic of the
Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan has not yet been determined. Subnational data for Yemen could not be displayed due to discrepancies between the regional groupings in DHS and those available in the soft-
ware used to create the map.
Sources: DHS, MICS and SHHS, 1997-2012.

FGM/C prevalence levels among girls do not reflect those who have not yet been cut
due to their young age
Percentage of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM/C (as reported by their mothers)

Gambia 56
Levels of FGM/C prevalence vary
Mauritania 54 dramatically among ethnic groups
Sudan 37
Although no causal link can be
Egypt 17 established, FGM/C appears to be
Nigeria 14 more common in rural areas
Burkina Faso 13
In most countries, FGM/C
Sierra Leone 13 prevalence is lower among girls in
Senegal 12 the wealthiest households
Central African Republic 1
Daughters of uneducated mothers
Uganda 1 are significantly more likely to have
Ghana 1 undergone FGM/C

Togo 0.4
While the majority of cut girls and
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 women are Muslim, other religious
groups also practise FGM/C

Notes: Data for Senegal refer to daughters aged 0 to 9. Data for Egypt have been recalculated for daughters aged 0 to 14.
Sources: DHS, MICS and SHHS, 2008-2011.

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 When and how is FGM/C performed?
Traditional practitioners perform most In half of the countries with available data,
cases of FGM/C the majority of girls were cut before age 5
Percentage distribution of girls who have undergone FGM/C Percentage distribution of girls who have undergone FGM/C (as reported
(as reported by their mothers), according to the type of person/ by their mothers), by age at which cutting occurred
practitioner performing the procedure

Health personnel Traditional practitioners Others Don't know/missing 0-4 years 5-9 years 10-14 years 15+ years Don't know/missing

Senegal Central African Republic

Niger Kenya
Guinea-Bissau Somalia
Gambia Egypt
Cte d'Ivoire
Togo
Burkina Faso
Chad
United Republic of Tanzania
Djibouti
Central African Republic
Guinea
Eritrea
Benin Guinea-Bissau
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone
Ethiopia Benin
Mauritania United Republic of Tanzania
Mali Cte d'Ivoire
Chad Burkina Faso
Yemen Niger
Ghana
Ethiopia
Iraq
Senegal
Djibouti
Mauritania
Guinea
Ghana
Nigeria
Kenya Eritrea
Sudan Mali
Egypt Nigeria

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Sources: DHS, MICS and SHHS, 19972011. Sources: DHS and MICS, 2000-2010.

Most girls who have undergone Cut, no flesh

Type of FGM/C
Cut, flesh Type not determined/ not
FGM/C have had their genitalia Country
Benin
removed/nicked
2
removed
95
Sewn closed
2
sure/doesnt know
1
cut, with some flesh removed Burkina Faso N/A N/A 1 N/A
Percentage distribution of girls who have undergone Central African Republic 24 61 6 9
FGM/C (as reported by their mothers), by type Chad 9 81 8 2
Cte dIvoire 7 82 6 5
Djibouti 15 53 30 3
In Egypt, doctors, as opposed to other Egypt N/A N/A 2 1
health personnel, undertake most FGM/C Eritrea 52 6 38 4
procedures Ethiopia N/A N/A 4 N/A
Gambia 0 86 12 1
Most cases of FGM/C are performed at Ghana 8 68 17 7
home using a blade or razor Guinea 2 85 10 2
Guinea-Bissau 0 88 10 2

More than one in five daughters have Kenya 3 79 17 1

Mali 16 71 3 11
undergone the most invasive form of
Mauritania 6 80 N/A 14
FGM/C (involving the sewing of genitalia)
Niger 0 63 35 2
in Somalia, Eritrea, Niger, Djibouti and
Nigeria 16 69 6 9
Senegal Senegal N/A N/A 21 N/A
Sierra Leone 1 70 12 17
The type of FGM/C performed is often Somalia 5 25 63 7
linked to ethnicity United Republic of Tanzania 1 98 2 N/A

Sources: DHS and MICS, 1995-2011.

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 What are the prevailing attitudes towards FGM/C?
In most countries where FGM/C is practised, the majority of women and men
think it should end
Percentage distribution of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years and percentage distribution of boys and men aged 15 to 49 (or 59, see note)
years who have heard about FGM/C, by their attitudes about whether the practice should continue

GirlsThink
and Women
FGM/C should continue Think
Think FGM/C should FGM/CSay
stop should continue notThink
it depends/are sure FGM/C should stopFGM/CSay
Think it depends/are
should continue not sure
Think FGM/C should stop Boys and
Say it depends/are Men
not sure

Benin Benin Benin

Ghana Ghana Niger
Togo Togo
Cameroon
Niger Niger
United Republic of Tanzania
Iraq Iraq
Burkina Faso
United Republic of Tanzania United Republic of Tanzania
Cameroon Senegal
Cameroon
Uganda Uganda Cte d'Ivoire

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Nigeria

Kenya Kenya
Sudan
Central African Republic Central African Republic
Chad
Senegal Senegal
Sierra Leone
Cte d'Ivoire Cte d'Ivoire
Nigeria Eritrea
Nigeria
Ethiopia Ethiopia Guinea

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Egypt

Djibouti Djibouti Mali
Chad Chad
Mauritania
Mauritania Mauritania
Yemen Yemen 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Sudan Sudan
Liberia Liberia
Notes: The category of girls and women and boys and men who are unsure or responded that
Eritrea Eritrea it depends also includes those for whom data are missing. In Liberia, only cut girls and women
were asked about their attitudes towards FGM/C; since girls and women from practising com-
Egypt Egypt
munities are more likely to support the practice, the level of support in this country as captured
Gambia Gambia by the 2007 DHS is higher than would be anticipated had all girls and women been asked their
opinion. Data from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Sudan and the United
Somalia Somalia Republic of Tanzania refer to boys and men aged 15 to 49. Data from all other countries refer to
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone boys and men aged 15 to 59. Data presented in these charts cannot be directly compared for all
countries since data sources for girls and women are more recent than those for boys and men
Guinea Guinea for some countries.
Mali Sources for girls and women: DHS, MICS and SHHS, 1997-2011.
Mali Sources for boys and men: DHS, MICS and SHHS, 1995-2010.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 800 10 100
90 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Many girls who are cut are daughters of women who oppose the practice
Among daughters of cut girls and women, the percentage of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM/C (as reported by their mothers),
by mothers attitudes about whether the practice should continue
100
Daughters whose mothers think FGM/C should continue Among girls and women, as well as boys and men, the
90 87
Daughters whose mothers think FGM/C should stop most commonly reported benefit of FGM/C is gaining
80 75
70 64 social acceptance
60 59
54 54
50 43 Large percentages of women and men are unaware of
41
40 35 what the opposite sex thinks about FGM/C
31
30 24 23
20 15 17 15
10
11 10 9 In 4 out of 14 countries, more than 50 per cent of girls
5 6
1 2
0 and women regard FGM/C as a religious requirement
l t
n ia ia r ia ga so da
n g o
an
a
yp ne
ub
lic
ita mb ge ne Fa Su To Gh Eg eo
r Ga Ni Se a L ep
M
au r k in e rra n R Girls and women who have been cut are more likely to
Bu Si ca
fri favour maintaining the practice
lA
n tra
Ce
Notes: Data for Egypt have been recalculated for girls aged 0 to 14. Data for Senegal refer to girls Many girls and women who have undergone FGM/C
aged 0 to 9. Data for Uganda are not presented since they are based on less than 25 unweighted cas- want the practice to end
es. Data for daughters whose mothers think FGM/C should continue for Ghana and Togo were based
on 25-49 unweighted cases.
Sources: DHS, MICS and SHHS, 2008-2011.

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Is the practice of FGM/C changing?
In most of the 29 countries, FGM/C is less common among adolescent girls than
middle-aged women
Percentage of girls aged 15 to 19 years and women aged 45 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C

99
Somalia 97 The practice is becoming less
94 common in more than half of
Djibouti 90 the 29 countries. The decline
100 is particularly striking in some
Guinea 89
moderately low to very low
89
Mali 88 prevalence countries
89
Sudan 84 In a few countries, new data on
96 girls under 15 years of age seem
Egypt 81
96
to confirm an important trend
Sierra Leone 80 towards the elimination of the
95 practice in recent years
Eritrea 78
79
Gambia 77
Overall support for the practice is
75
declining, even in countries where
Mauritania 66 FGM/C is almost universal, such as
81 Egypt and Sudan
Ethiopia 62
89
Burkina Faso 58
The percentage of girls and
50
women who reportedly want
Guinea-Bissau 48 FGM/C to continue has remained
Liberia
85 constant in countries including
44
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal
47
Chad 41 and the United Republic of
40 Tanzania
Cte d'Ivoire 28

Senegal
29 In Egypt, the percentage of
24
girls cut by health personnel
25
Yemen 19 has increased dramatically. An
38 increasing trend towards the
Nigeria 19 medicalization of FGM/C is also
Central African Republic
34 observed in Kenya
18
49
Kenya 15 Overall, little change is seen in the
16 type of FGM/C performed across
Benin 8 generations
22
United Republic of Tanzania 7
Age at cutting has remained
10
Iraq 5 fairly stable in most countries.
3 Where change has occurred, the
Niger 2 most common trend is towards
6 younger ages
Ghana 2
7
Togo 1
2 Women aged 45 to 49 years
Uganda 1
Girls aged 15 to 19 years
2
Cameroon 0.4

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Notes: Confidence intervals for Sierra Leone could not be calculated since the prevalence among girls aged 15 to 19 has been
adjusted. Confidence intervals for Yemen could not be calculated since access to the dataset is restricted.
Sources: DHS and MICS, 1997-2011.
FGM/C: A human rights violation Implications for programming

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) refers to all Take into account differences among population groups
procedures involving partial or total removal of the female within and across national borders

external genitalia or other injury to the female genital

Seek change in individual attitudes about FGM/C, but
organs for non-medical reasons.[i] FGM/C is a violation also address expectations surrounding the practice
of girls and womens human rights and is condemned by within the larger social group
many international treaties and conventions, as well as
by national legislation in many countries. Yet, where it is Find ways to make hidden attitudes favouring the
practised, FGM/C is performed in line with tradition and abandonment of the practice more visible

social norms to ensure that girls are socially accepted and

Increase engagement by boys and men in ending
marriageable, and to uphold their status and honour and FGM/C and empower girls
that of the entire family. UNICEF works with governments
and civil society partners towards the elimination of Increase exposure to groups that do not practise
FGM/C in countries where it is still practised. FGM/C

Promote abandonment of FGM/C along with improved

[i] World Health Organization, Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation: An status and opportunities for girls, rather than
interagency statement, WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNIFEM, OHCHR, UNHCR, advocating for milder forms of the practice
UNECA, UNESCO, UNDP, UNAIDS, WHO, Geneva, 2008, p. 4.

Cover photos:
Top: Fatima, who underwent FGM/C at the age of 1, sits on a bed in her home in the village of Contact:
Karensa, in Amibara district, Afar region, Ethiopia.
UNICEF
UNICEF/NYHQ2009-2260/Holt
Statistics and Monitoring Section
Bottom: Photographs of girls who were not subjected to FGM/C adorn the walls of the Rohi-Weddu
Division of Policy and Strategy
Pastoral Women Development Organization office in the town of Awash Sabat Kilo, in Amibara
district, Afar region, Ethiopia. The girls were spared the procedure because of Rohi-Weddus activities 3 United Nations Plaza
in the region, which include advocacy, training and the promotion of community dialogue. These New York, NY 10017, USA
kinds of holistic, human rights-based programmes are helping to change attitudes about harmful
practices, with girls who are most affected playing an active role.
Tel: +1 (212) 326-7000
UNICEF/NYHQ2009-2256/Holt Email: childinfo@unicef.org

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