December 11, 2017 23:47

Male circumcision isn't relatively popular in the UK, but abroad it is more commonplace than you might think.

According to Quartz nearly six of ten newborn boys in America are circumcised by the time they leave the hospital.

It's not quite as popular in Europe where The Washington Post reports that fewer than one-fifth of men have had their penis foreskin removed.

In Denmark, the procedure has come into dispute in the past 12 months after a major doctors association stated that it should be a personal choice that a man can make when he is an adult, as reported by the New York Times.

However, in regions like North Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia it is far more prevalent as this map from Reddit proves.

Created by Reddit user Pat The Pope, using information from NCBI, it shows that the aforementioned regions and the United States have the highest amount of circumcisions in their respective populations.

Curiously South Korea also scored highly but as one commenter on the Reddit thread pointed out it could be down to the strong relations the nation has with the United States, especially in student exchanges.

According to the NCBI stats, 12 nations scored a percentage of 99 or higher on circumcisions.

They were Afghanistan, Comoros, Gabon, Gaza Strip, Iran, Mauritania, Morocco, Tajikistan, Tunisia, the West Bank, Western Sahara and Yemen.

According to the NHS there are several reasons as to why men go through with circumcision surgery.

They range from political views that are common in the Jewish and Islamic faiths as well as some African communities.

Medical reasons can include HIV prevention and phimosis, which is a tightening of the foreskin.

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