A report by Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs and Donna Clifton of the Population Reference Bureau in Washington, DC, provides updated information about the prevalence of female genital cutting (FGC):
“FGM/C is practiced in at least 28 countries in Africa and a few others in Asia and the Middle East. It is practiced at all educational levels and in all social classes and occurs among many religious groups (Muslims, Christians, and animists), although no religion mandates it. The prevalence of FGM/C varies significantly from country to country, from nearly 98 percent in Somalia to less than 1 percent in Uganda. There is also wide variation by geographic region and rural or urban residence within many countries. In most countries, including Ethiopia, Liberia, and Kenya, the practice of FGM/C is more common in rural areas. But the reverse is true in some countries, including Nigeria.”
The authors compile data from the Demographic and Health Surveys and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. While they present most of the data at the country level, they also provide some important glimpses into within-country variation by age (see table below) and region. A map of the horn of Africa shows that rates of FGC are lower in eastern than in western Ethiopia.
Data by age indicate lower rates of FGC in younger women in many but not all countries. In the Gambia and Chad, for example, survey indicate no difference at all.
Prevalence of FGM/C Among Younger and Older Women
Image from C. Feldman-Jacobs and D. Clifton, Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Data and Trends—Update 2010.
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