29 countries, more than 125 million girls and women
Number of
girls and women
who have
undergone Egypt
FGM/C
27.2
million
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
In most countries where FGM/C is
practised, the majority of
girls and women think it should end
98%
Somalia
Benin 93%
96%
Guinea
Ghana 93%
93%
Djibouti
United Republic of Tanzania 92%
91%
Egypt
89%
Eritrea
Togo 89%
89%
Mali
Niger 89%
88%
Sierra Leone
88%
Sudan
76%
Gambia
76%
Burkina Faso
Uganda 83%
74%
Ethiopia
Senegal 79%
69%
Mauritania
12.1
million
66%
Liberia
50%
Guinea-Bissau
44%
Chad
9.3 million
38%
Côte d'Ivoire
27%
Kenya
Mali and
United Republic of Tanzania
7.9 million
27%
Nigeria
Sudan 53%
26%
Senegal
Djibouti 51%
Guinea and Somalia
6.5 million
Ethiopia
Nigeria
Sudan
Kenya and
Burkina Faso
23.8
million
19.9
million
Côte d'Ivoire and
Yemen
5.0 million
Chad and Iraq
3.8 million
Eritrea and Sierra Leone
3.5 million
Senegal, Mauritania
and Niger
3.4 million
Burkina Faso 90%
Cameroon 84%
Yemen
Above 80%
51% - 80%
26% - 50%
10% - 25%
Less than 10%
FGM/C is not concentrated
in these countries
Benin
4%
Togo
Gambia, Ghana and
Central African Republic
1.3 million
2%
Niger
Guinea-Bissau, Djibouti,
Uganda and Togo
1%
Cameroon
919,000
1%
Uganda
Côte d’Ivoire
41% of girls and women
of Voltaique/Gur
background support the
continuation of FGM/C,
compared to only 3% of
Akan girls and women
Kenya
59% of girls
and women
who have been
cut do not see
any benefit to
the practice
Nigeria
35% of boys and men
and 31% of girls and
women report that
they do not know what
the opposite sex thinks
about FGM/C
Eritrea
60% of girls
and women
regard
FGM/C as
a religious
requirement
Senegal
FGM/C prevalence
among Wolof girls
and women ranges
from a low of 0% in
Diourbel to 35%
in Matam
Mali
58% of girls who
have been cut
are daughters
of mothers
who oppose
the practice
Central African Republic
52% of cut girls
experienced
FGM/C
between
the ages of
10 and 14
Sierra
Leone
51% of couples
do not agree
on whether
FGM/C should
continue or end
Sudan
Girls and women with no
education are nearly four
times more likely to support
the continuation of FGM/C
than girls and women with
secondary or higher education
United republic of Tanzania
Yemen
Women aged 45 to 49
In 97% of cases,
are approximately
girls underwent
three times more
the procedure in their
likely to have been
homes and 75% of
cut than girls
them were cut using
aged 15 to 19
a blade or razor
Gambia
82% of girls and women
who have undergone
FGM/C think the practice
should continue, compared
to 5% of girls and women
who have not been cut
BENIN
72% of Peulh girls
and women have
undergone FGM/C,
compared to 0% of
girls and women of
Adja and Fon ethnicity
Burkina Faso
76% of girls and
women have
been cut, but only
9% favour the
continuation
of FGM/C
Iraq
FGM/C is
concentrated
in the
regions of
Erbil and
Sulaymaniyah
Yemen 48%
Liberia 46%
Chad 36%
Why
Egypt 35%
Somalia
Ethiopia
41% of girls and women
with no education support
the continuation of FGM/C
compared to 5% of girls
and women with secondary
or higher education
Ghana
In the highest prevalence
region (Upper West),
60% of women aged
45 to 49 have undergone
FGM/C compared to 16%
of girls aged 15 to 19
In nearly all countries
where FGM/C is
concentrated, traditional
practitioners perform
most of the procedures
Eritrea 49%
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.
United Republic of Tanzania
2.7 million
Egypt
77% of girls
who have
undergone
FGM/C were
cut by a medical
professional
By Whom
Guinea-Bissau 56%
Central African Republic
Ghana
Djibouti
62% of
cut girls
underwent
the procedure
between the
ages of 5 and 9
Ethiopia 63%
Mauritania 53%
4%
Guinea
19% of girls and
women think
FGM/C should
stop, compared
to 42% of boys
and men
Central African Republic 75%
Nigeria 62%
Iraq
Somalia
63% of girls
who underwent
FGM/C
had their
genitalia sewn
closed
Across a majority of
countries, most daughters
have had their genitalia
cut, with some flesh
removed
Côte d'Ivoire 69%
8%
Liberia, Cameroon
and Benin
How
Kenya 86%
23%
13%
In half of the countries, the
majority of girls were cut
before age 5. In the rest of
the countries, most cutting
occurs between 5 and 14
years of age
Iraq 88%
24%
15%
When
33%
Gambia
28%
Sierra Leone
26%
Mali
20%
Guinea
19%
Mauritania
On average,
girls are
cut when
they are
just 1
month old
Togo
21% of Muslim
girls and women
have undergone
FGM/C, compared
to 1% of Christian
girls and women
Social acceptance is
the most frequently cited
reason for supporting the
continuation of the practice
Liberia
Girls and women from
the poorest households
are twice as likely
to have experienced
FGM/C as those from
the richest households
Niger
55% of Christian
girls and women
have undergone
FGM/C, compared
to 2% of Muslim
girls and women
GuineaBissau
18% of
cut girls
underwent
the procedure
after age 15
Cameroon
85% of
boys and
men think
that FGM/C
should not
be continued
Chad
27% of
boys and
men think
FGM/C is
required
by religion
Uganda
9% of girls and
women support the
continuation
of FGM/C, even
though national
prevalence is only 1%