Affected Countries

Female Genital Mutilation is mainly practised on the African continent. The countries with the greatest prevalence are mainly in the northern half of the continent in a strip, which runs from Senegal in the west to Somalia in the east. In some countries up to 99% of women are affected. Even in African countries further south genital mutilation is practised; but there are no statistics and studies for the affected countries.

In the Middle East female genital mutilation occurs in Yemen, Northern Iraq, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Bahrain, Jordan and the Palestinian Autonomous Area in the Gaza strip are also referred to. In Asia, India, Indonesia and Malaysia are affected and possibly even Sri Lanka.
As a result of migration, female genital mutilation has become a worldwide problem that now concerns Europe, America, Australia and New Zealand.

Figures, statistics and studies can provide approximations on the extent of genital mutilation; however, since it is generally hard to collect data on the ground, published figures frequently differ from each other.