How many prostitutes are in the united states

Bulgaria Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Paraguay Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal.

Togo Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Austria Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Tajikistan Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Honduras Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal.

Portugal Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Czech Republic Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Dominican Republic Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Cuba Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels, solicitation, and pornography illegal.

Belgium Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Benin Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal.

Senegal Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Guatemala Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution and brothels legal, pimping illegal. Zambia Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Kazakhstan Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Romania Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Chile Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal.

Malawi Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Mali Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal.

Madagascar Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Poland Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Algeria Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Argentina Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Spain Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels are gray area, solicitation illegal. Italy Limited Legality Prohibitionism Prostitution prohibited, but many loopholes exist.

United Kingdom Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Thailand Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels are gray area, solicitation illegal. Ethiopia Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Japan Limited Legality Prohibitionism Prostitution prohibited, but many loopholes exist. Brazil Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal.

India Limited Legality Abolitionism Prostitution is legal, brothels and solicitation illegal. Cape Verde Legal Decriminalization Sex trafficking and child prostitution still illegal. Uruguay Legal Legalization Organized and regulated. Pimping and forced prostitution still illegal. Hungary Legal Legalization Organized and regulated. Greece Legal Legalization Organized and regulated. Illegal prostitution also common. Bolivia Legal Legalization Organized and regulated. Netherlands Legal Legalization Organized and regulated.

Ecuador Legal Legalization Organized and regulated. Inconsistent enforcement. Venezuela Legal Legalization Organized and regulated. Colombia Legal Legalization Organized and regulated. Germany Legal Legalization Organized and regulated. Turkey Legal Legalization Organized and regulated. Bangladesh Legal Legalization Solicitation still illegal. Indonesia Legal Decriminalization Frowned upon, but widely tolerated.

Samoa Illegal Prohibitionism Still widespread. Barbados Illegal Prohibitionism Still exists, but not prevalent. Iceland Illegal Neo-Abolitionism Selling is legal, but buying, organizing, solicitation illegal. Still widespread. Belize Illegal Neo-Abolitionism Selling is legal, but buying, organizing, solicitation illegal.

Suriname Illegal Prohibitionism Still widespread. Bhutan Illegal Prohibitionism Still exists, but not prevalent. Guyana Illegal Prohibitionism Still widespread. Djibouti Illegal Prohibitionism Illegal but tolerated. Eswatini Illegal Prohibitionism Illegal but tolerated. Bahrain Illegal Prohibitionism Still exists, but not prevalent. Gambia Illegal Prohibitionism Still widespread. Lithuania Illegal Prohibitionism Still widespread. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options.

Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. Good Subscriber Account active since Shortcuts. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. In case you had any doubt, there is big money in sex. The chart above, produced by the Urban Institute, leaves out Kansas City, the eighth city studied in the report, because of a lack of data.

The sex trade is not run by uneducated people. It's run by people who are struggling to find other opportunities. Of the pimps surveyed, just 5. One former sex worker said that her primary motivation for getting involved was the need to provide for her children:. And somebody had made the comment 'You got a million dollars between your legs' and I was like 'ok' and I just kind of fell into it, I guess you could say.

The researchers found people largely stay in or come back to the sex trade because they can't find work that makes as much elsewhere. Some 32 percent of respondents had a family member who was involved in pimping or prostitution before them, the report found. And for many, that had a large role in shaping their views toward the industry:. One night, I saw and asked. She said, 'The clothes on your back, the apartment, this is how I pay the rent.

Then my sister and my momma did it. My uncle and father were pimps.