Supposedly, New Zealand is the best place in the world to be a prostitute, according to sex workers.
In June 2003, New Zealand became the first country to decriminalize sex work with the passage of the Prostitution Reform Act.
New Zealand’s sex work laws call any sex work business a “brothel”. An operator of a brothel has to have a special license, and must do things like making sure the sex workers are over 18 and use safer sex practices. Most sex workers in brothels have signed agreements that say they are “independent contractors”, rather than employees.
In particular, Wellington Escorts is one of the main escort directories. (warning NSFW)
Ethics of good and safe practices must be adhered to, such as ensuring that those who engage in sexual acts are above the legal age of consent. The age of consent in New Zealand is 16 and to work in the industry is 18.
Many countries have different age of consent. The lowest age of consent is seen in The Philippines and Angola with the age of consent being 12. Countries like Japan, Niger, Comoros and Burkina Faso also have a consent age of 13. The highest age of consent in the world is Bahrain, with the legal age of consent is 21.
Countries Where Prostitution Is Legal 2021
| Country | Prostitution Status | 2021 Population |
|---|---|---|
| Iceland | Limitedly legal | 343,353 |
| Armenia | Limitedly legal | 2,968,127 |
| Ireland | Limitedly legal | 4,982,907 |
| Norway | Limitedly legal | 5,465,630 |
| Sweden | Limitedly legal | 10,160,169 |
| Australia | Limitedly legal | 25,788,215 |
| Malaysia | Limitedly legal | 32,776,194 |
| Canada | Limitedly legal | 38,067,903 |
| France | Limitedly legal | 65,426,179 |
| United Kingdom | Limitedly legal | 68,207,116 |
| Japan | Limitedly legal | 126,050,804 |
| United States | Limitedly legal | 332,915,073 |
| Belize | Legal | 404,914 |
| Malta | Legal | 442,784 |
| Luxembourg | Legal | 634,814 |
| Cyprus | Legal | 1,215,584 |
| Estonia | Legal | 1,325,185 |
| Latvia | Legal | 1,866,942 |
| Slovenia | Legal | 2,078,724 |
| Uruguay | Legal | 3,485,151 |
| Panama | Legal | 4,381,579 |
| New Zealand | Legal | 4,860,643 |
| Costa Rica | Legal | 5,139,052 |
| Slovakia | Legal | 5,460,721 |
| Finland | Legal | 5,548,360 |
| Denmark | Legal | 5,813,298 |
| Singapore | Legal | 5,896,686 |
| El Salvador | Legal | 6,518,499 |
| Kyrgyzstan | Legal | 6,628,356 |
| Nicaragua | Legal | 6,702,385 |
| Bulgaria | Legal | 6,896,663 |
| Paraguay | Legal | 7,219,638 |
| Switzerland | Legal | 8,715,494 |
| Israel | Legal | 8,789,774 |
| Austria | Legal | 9,043,070 |
| Hungary | Legal | 9,634,164 |
| Honduras | Legal | 10,062,991 |
| Portugal | Legal | 10,167,925 |
| Greece | Legal | 10,370,744 |
| Czech Republic | Legal | 10,724,555 |
| Dominican Republic | Legal | 10,953,703 |
| Cuba | Legal | 11,317,505 |
| Belgium | Legal | 11,632,326 |
| Bolivia | Legal | 11,832,940 |
| Netherlands | Legal | 17,173,099 |
| Senegal | Legal | 17,196,301 |
| Ecuador | Legal | 17,888,475 |
| Guatemala | Legal | 18,249,860 |
| Chile | Legal | 19,212,361 |
| Venezuela | Legal | 28,704,954 |
| Peru | Legal | 33,359,418 |
| Poland | Legal | 37,797,005 |
| Argentina | Legal | 45,605,826 |
| Spain | Legal | 46,745,216 |
| Colombia | Legal | 51,265,844 |
| Kenya | Legal | 54,985,698 |
| Italy | Legal | 60,367,477 |
| Germany | Legal | 83,900,473 |
| Turkey | Legal | 85,042,738 |
| Ethiopia | Legal | 117,876,227 |
| Mexico | Legal | 130,262,216 |
| Bangladesh | Legal | 166,303,498 |
| Brazil | Legal | 213,993,437 |
| Indonesia | Legal | 276,361,783 |
| India | Legal | 1,393,409,038 |
| Saint Kitts And Nevis | Illegal | 53,544 |
| Dominica | Illegal | 72,167 |
| Antigua And Barbuda | Illegal | 98,731 |
| Saint Vincent And The Grenadines | Illegal | 111,263 |
| Grenada | Illegal | 113,021 |
| Saint Lucia | Illegal | 184,400 |
| Barbados | Illegal | 287,711 |
| Bahamas | Illegal | 396,913 |
| Suriname | Illegal | 591,800 |
| Guyana | Illegal | 790,326 |
| Trinidad And Tobago | Illegal | 1,403,375 |
| Lithuania | Illegal | 2,689,862 |
| Albania | Illegal | 2,872,933 |
| Jamaica | Illegal | 2,973,463 |
| Croatia | Illegal | 4,081,651 |
| Liberia | Illegal | 5,180,203 |
| United Arab Emirates | Illegal | 9,991,089 |
| Jordan | Illegal | 10,269,021 |
| Haiti | Illegal | 11,541,685 |
| Rwanda | Illegal | 13,276,513 |
| Cambodia | Illegal | 16,946,438 |
| Romania | Illegal | 19,127,774 |
| North Korea | Illegal | 25,887,041 |
| Angola | Illegal | 33,933,610 |
| Saudi Arabia | Illegal | 35,340,683 |
| Afghanistan | Illegal | 39,835,428 |
| Iraq | Illegal | 41,179,350 |
| Uganda | Illegal | 47,123,531 |
| South Korea | Illegal | 51,305,186 |
| South Africa | Illegal | 60,041,994 |
| Thailand | Illegal | 69,950,850 |
| Iran | Illegal | 85,028,759 |
| Egypt | Illegal | 104,258,327 |
| Philippines | Illegal | 111,046,913 |
| China | Illegal | 1,444,216,107 |
