Referred to as the world’s oldest profession, prostitution was a common practice, recorded as early as 2400 BCE by Sumerian priests in the city of Uruk.
Prostitution is widely known as a sexual engagement of one gender with another in exchange for money. Historically, the gender ratio has been the same; with women as prostitutes and men as clients. Prositution is the sexual intimacy practised between two ‘strangers’- not friends, not spouses- in exchange of immediate payment.
The rate of prostitutes depends on the agency and on the girl herself, as to what she’s offering in what amount of money. The prostitutes can be male, female and even transgenders, thus the act can be both heterosexual and homosexual.
Where is Prostitution Legal in the World?
There is a list of countries where prostitution is legal, limitedly legal (meaning in some parts of the country it is legal and in others it is not) and illegal in 2020.
Country | Prostitution Status | Population 2020 |
Iceland | Limitedly legal | 341,243 |
Armenia | Limitedly legal | 2,963,243 |
Ireland | Limitedly legal | 4,937,786 |
Norway | Limitedly legal | 5,421,241 |
Sweden | Limitedly legal | 10,099,265 |
Australia | Limitedly legal | 25,499,884 |
Malaysia | Limitedly legal | 32,365,999 |
Canada | Limitedly legal | 37,742,154 |
France | Limitedly legal | 65,273,511 |
United Kingdom | Limitedly legal | 67,886,011 |
Japan | Limitedly legal | 126,476,461 |
United States | Limitedly legal | 331,002,651 |
Belize | Legal | 397,628 |
Malta | Legal | 441,543 |
Luxembourg | Legal | 625,978 |
Cyprus | Legal | 1,207,359 |
Estonia | Legal | 1,326,535 |
Latvia | Legal | 1,886,198 |
Slovenia | Legal | 2,078,938 |
Uruguay | Legal | 3,473,730 |
Panama | Legal | 4,314,767 |
New Zealand | Legal | 4,822,233 |
Costa Rica | Legal | 5,094,118 |
Slovakia | Legal | 5,459,642 |
Finland | Legal | 5,540,720 |
Denmark | Legal | 5,792,202 |
Singapore | Legal | 5,850,342 |
El Salvador | Legal | 6,486,205 |
Kyrgyzstan | Legal | 6,524,195 |
Nicaragua | Legal | 6,624,554 |
Bulgaria | Legal | 6,948,445 |
Paraguay | Legal | 7,132,538 |
Switzerland | Legal | 8,654,622 |
Israel | Legal | 8,655,535 |
Austria | Legal | 9,006,398 |
Hungary | Legal | 9,660,351 |
Honduras | Legal | 9,904,607 |
Portugal | Legal | 10,196,709 |
Greece | Legal | 10,423,054 |
Czech Republic | Legal | 10,708,981 |
Dominican Republic | Legal | 10,847,910 |
Cuba | Legal | 11,326,616 |
Belgium | Legal | 11,589,623 |
Bolivia | Legal | 11,673,021 |
Senegal | Legal | 16,743,927 |
Netherlands | Legal | 17,134,872 |
Ecuador | Legal | 17,643,054 |
Guatemala | Legal | 17,915,568 |
Chile | Legal | 19,116,201 |
Venezuela | Legal | 28,435,940 |
Peru | Legal | 32,971,854 |
Poland | Legal | 37,846,611 |
Argentina | Legal | 45,195,774 |
Spain | Legal | 46,754,778 |
Colombia | Legal | 50,882,891 |
Kenya | Legal | 53,771,296 |
Italy | Legal | 60,461,826 |
Germany | Legal | 83,783,942 |
Turkey | Legal | 84,339,067 |
Ethiopia | Legal | 114,963,588 |
Mexico | Legal | 128,932,753 |
Bangladesh | Legal | 164,689,383 |
Brazil | Legal | 212,559,417 |
Indonesia | Legal | 273,523,615 |
India | Legal | 1,380,004,385 |
Saint Kitts And Nevis | Illegal | 53,199 |
Dominica | Illegal | 71,986 |
Antigua And Barbuda | Illegal | 97,929 |
Saint Vincent And The Grenadines | Illegal | 110,940 |
Grenada | Illegal | 112,523 |
Saint Lucia | Illegal | 183,627 |
Barbados | Illegal | 287,375 |
Bahamas | Illegal | 393,244 |
Suriname | Illegal | 586,632 |
Guyana | Illegal | 786,552 |
Trinidad And Tobago | Illegal | 1,399,488 |
Lithuania | Illegal | 2,722,289 |
Albania | Illegal | 2,877,797 |
Jamaica | Illegal | 2,961,167 |
Croatia | Illegal | 4,105,267 |
Liberia | Illegal | 5,057,681 |
United Arab Emirates | Illegal | 9,890,402 |
Jordan | Illegal | 10,203,134 |
Haiti | Illegal | 11,402,528 |
Rwanda | Illegal | 12,952,218 |
Cambodia | Illegal | 16,718,965 |
Romania | Illegal | 19,237,691 |
North Korea | Illegal | 25,778,816 |
Angola | Illegal | 32,866,272 |
Saudi Arabia | Illegal | 34,813,871 |
Afghanistan | Illegal | 38,928,346 |
Iraq | Illegal | 40,222,493 |
Uganda | Illegal | 45,741,007 |
South Korea | Illegal | 51,269,185 |
South Africa | Illegal | 59,308,690 |
Thailand | Illegal | 69,799,978 |
Iran | Illegal | 83,992,949 |
Egypt | Illegal | 102,334,404 |
Philippines | Illegal | 109,581,078 |
China | Illegal | 1,439,323,776 |
Note: Sample rates have been extracted online, courtesy of World Population Review.
What States is Prostitution Legal?
Nevada is the only US state where prosititution is legal, but only in licensed brothels. Any practices happening outside of those brothels are recognized as illegal.
Brothels have been permitted in Nevada since the 19th century. In 1937, a law was sanctioned to require week by week health checks, all things considered. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a request to stifle prostitution close to military basis- influencing the red light areas of town of Reno and Las Vegas.
At the point when this request was lifted in 1948, Reno authorities attempted to close down a brothel as a public annoyance; this activity was maintained by the Nevada Supreme Court in 1949. Under Nevada state law, any area with a population of up to 700,000, as of the last decennial census, is permitted to license brothels. Incorporated towns and urban areas in provinces that permit prostitution may direct the exchange further or prohibit it.
As of now seven out of Nevada’s 16 countries have dynamic brothels (these are generally provincial areas). As of February 2018 there are 21 legitimate brothels.
Legalizing prostitution creates a widespread in sexually transmitted diseases as well as AIDS, which will burden the country’s healthcare system and endanger lives of young men and women. Even though today, in a few states and few countries today, prostitution is deemed legal, however, there are lots of cultural, social and feminist values that are being targetted.
Conclusion
Prostitution started centuries ago, and though in a different shape than today, it has gained its popularity over time. Many prostitutes today are offended when being called that, and prefer to be called ‘sex workers’ instead, because this is also their profession. There will always be a debate whether it is right to legalize prostitution or not, and there will always be a backlash to this profession.