25+ Prostitution Statistics [Global Analysis]

Prostitution is the oldest profession in the world. The first mention of it was in 2400 BCE in ancient Babylonia. The profession does still occupy many around the world, and the market size of the industry has never been larger.

To better understand how big prostitution is. We’ve created this report with the most popular statistics on prostitutes (e.g. prices for visiting a prostitute in different areas of the world). The prostitution statistics are gathered from online surveys, in-depth research, and desk research. It is the newest global analysis available online, and we’ll keep it that way. All data will continuously be updated, so you in real-time are able to find the facts and stats about prostitution.

Table of contents

• Statistics on prostitutes
  • How many prostitutes are there in the world?
  • How many prostitutes are in America?
  • How many prostitutes are killed in America?
  • Prostitute Violence
  • Sexually transmitted diseases and prostitutes
  • How many men have purchased a prostitute?
  • Why do women and men go into prison statistics?
  • Prostitution industry worth
  • How many hookers have a background as child prostitutes?
  • Prostitution and drugs
  • The majority of prostitutes are dependent on pimps
  • What’s the price for a prostitute?
  • Why is prostitution a crime?

➔ Key Findings

• There are 52 million prostitutes in the world
• There are 1-2 million prostitutes in the US
• 20% of prostitutes are men and 80% are women
• 1 out of 10 men have tried prostitution
• China, India, and the US are the countries with the most prostitutes
• You have a 22x higher risk of being killed if you work as a prostitute
• An average prostitute gets beaten 12 times per. year
• 5 out of 10 have worked as child prostitutes
• 50% of all prostitutes have HIV
• 95% of customers in the US are males
• 8 out of 10 women want to get out of prostitution
• 99 billion USD is the yearly revenue generated from prostitution (market size)
• 1 out of 4 prostitutes in New York takes drugs on a daily basis
• The price for visiting a prostitute is 200$ in the US, 0.6$ in Bangladesh, and 150$ in Denmark
• Prostitution costs the American taxpayers 200 million USD every year

Statistics on Prostitutes

This section covers the most interesting results from our analysis. You’ll among others get an understanding of how many hookers the world has, the market size, expected growth, why prostitution is a crime, and much more.

Disclaimer: The sex industry is a super secret and discreet industry. We’ve therefore only inserted data that we with 100% security knows gives a true and fair picture. All data, facts, stats, etc. have been fact-checked by internal and external independent professionals to make sure that data is representative and valid.

#1 How many prostitutes are there in the world?

• There are 52 million prostitutes in the world. This has increased by 5% year by year from 2016 to 2022:

• Male starts on average at the age of 14 as a prostitute and leaves at the age of 25.
  Female starts on average at the age of 14 as a prostitute and leaves at the age of 38.
  Reason: There is a higher demand for younger men. Female prostitutes do not have that “restriction”.

• The male prostitution rate is 20 to 100 prostitutes. So 20% of the world’s hookers are males, and 80% are females.

• Countries with the most prostitutes are:

#2 How many prostitutes are in America?

• There are 1 – 2 million prostitutes in the USA. Where 20% are men and 80% are women. The amount of sex workers in America is expected to keep increasing.

#3 How many prostitutes are killed in America?

• The murder rate for prostitution in the US is 22 times higher than the national average. 250 every 100.000 get murdered.

#4 Prostitute violence

• One single prostitute is on average beaten 12 times per year. That’s 1 time a month that every hooker gets beaten by others

• Only 6 out of 10 report an assault. The part that does not report it doesn’t want to use the time on it or is afraid of the offender.

• Around 5.000 prostitutes get arrested in New York City each year.

#5 Sexually transmitted diseases and prostitutes

• More than 50% of all prostitutes around the world have HIV which can lead to AIDS. This stat is of course even higher in some countries. In Africa 7 out of 10 prostitutes is diagnosed with HIV.

• A prostitute has on average sex 300 times a year without a condom or any other form of protection.

#6 How many men have purchased a prostitute?

• 10% of all men in the world have tried prostitution. This number is increasing every year. If we rounded up it would have been 20%. By 2025 +20% of them have tried it. Research shows that this is due to several factors. The most explanatory one is that; men are getting busier and don’t have the time for relationships, and the government are becoming more liberal on this allowing people (under relatively strict conditions) to do it.

• 99% of customers in France are males

• 95% of customers in the US are males

#7 Why do women and men go into prostitution statistics?

• 80% of women and men go into prostitution due to environmental circumstances (typically friends).

• 8 out of 10 women want to get out of prostitution. This is primarily due to the fact that they get older, and other priorities such as children. Many can’t get out due to the fact that they need money for e.g. food.

#8 Prostitution industry worth

• The prostitution industry generates around 99 billion USD in revenue every year. We’ve written more about this in our sex trafficking statistics.

• China is the country that generates the most revenue from prostitution, then Spain, Japan, Germany, and the US.

#9 How many hookers have a background as child prostitutes?

• Almost 50% of prostitutes have worked as child prostitutes. This do of course indicate that what you’re coming from does influence where you end up. The reason is pretty simple.
  Metaphor: If you’re used to playing football and surround yourself with football players (earlier and former), and haven’t tried anything else how should you start playing golf?

#10 Prostitution and drugs

• 1 out of 4 prostitutes in New York takes drugs on a daily basis.

• 9 out of 10 prostitutes in New York had to give away at least one child to helping organizations.

#11 The majority of prostitutes are dependent on pimps

• 9 out of 10 prostitutes have a pimp and need the person’s help to run the business.

#12 What’s the price for a prostitute?

• Prices in different areas of the world for a prostitute. All numbers are user submitted:

#13 Why is prostitution a crime?

• Legal prostitution statistics are often difficult to find something about. Since it’s quite a double-edged sword where people either are pro or anti-prostitution. In Germany its actually 100% legal to run prostitution/escort services. This country is the most liberal on this.

• The majority of countries do have prostitution as a crime. Since its one of the most dangerous jobs. The jobs is related to violence, sex trafficking, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, etc.

• It’s estimated that prostitution in the US costs the taxpayers 200 million USD. That’s almost the whole state budget of Denmark.

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Sources

https://prostitution.procon.org/questions/how-many-prostitutes-are-in-the-united-states-and-the-rest-of-the-world/
https://sex-crimes.laws.com/prostitution/prostitution-statistics
https://havocscope.com/prostitution-revenue-by-country/
https://havocscope.com/prostitution-statistics/
https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/prostitution-in-the-united-states-30997
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_statistics_by_country
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/03/27/lies-damned-lies-and-sex-work-statistics/
https://www.fondationscelles.org/pdf/current-assessment-of-the-state-of-prostitution-2013.pdf
https://apps.urban.org/features/theHustle/index.html
https://theexodusroad.com/prostitution-and-human-trafficking-know-the-difference/
https://www.vox.com/2019/8/2/20692327/sex-work-decriminalization-prostitution-new-york-dc