The legal status of prostitution in Africa varies widely. It is frequently common in practice, partially driven by the widespread poverty in many sub-Saharan African countries, and is one of the drivers for the prevalence of AIDS in Africa. (36.9% in sub-Saharan Africa) Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire permit the operations of brothels. In other countries, prostitution may be legal, but brothels are not allowed to operate. In some countries where prostitution is illegal, the law is rarely enforced. However, there are growing efforts by activists on the continent to decriminalize sex work.Kachipande, Sitinga. “Sun, Sand, Sex, and Safari: The Interplay of Sex Tourism and Global Inequalities in Africa’s Tourism Industry.” Journal of Global South Studies, vol. 40, no. 1, 2023, pp. 1–37, https://doi.org/10.1353/gss.2023.0007
Transactional sexual relationships are particularly common in sub-Saharan Africa, where they often involve relationships between older men and younger women or girls. In many cases, the woman in a transactional sexual relationship may remain faithful to her boyfriend, while he may have multiple sexual partners. In both of these cases, transactional sex presents an increased risk of HIV infection. As a result, transactional sex is a factor involved in the spread of AIDS in Africa.
This page uses the UN system of subregions.
Central Africa
Cameroon
Prostitution in Cameroon is illegal but tolerated, especially in urban and tourist areas. In the capital, Yaoundé the main area of prostitution is the neighbourhood of Mini Ferme. UNAIDS estimate there are 110,000 sex workers in the country.
Cameroon attracts sex tourism from the West, especially for child prostitution. The Cameroonian government has attempted to stop this trade by agreeing to multilateral agreements such as charters against sex tourism, like signing up with the Universal Federation of Travels Agents Associations (UFTAA).
Central African Republic
Prostitution is legal and common in the Central African Republic. Procuring or profiting off the prostitution of others is illegal, as is coercing people into prostitution. Punishment is a fine and up to one year in prison, or 5 years if the case involves a minor.
Human trafficking and Child prostitution is a problem in the country. A study published in 2017 found that about two thirds of the prostitutes in the capitol, Bangui, worked part-time to supplement their income or to pay school and college fees. Some of the full-time prostitutes visit hotels, bars and nightclubs looking for wealthy clients, especially French men. They are known as "pupulenge" (dragonflies) or "gba moundjou" (look at the white). Those who work in the poorer neighbourhoods are known as "kata".
Chad
Prostitution in Chad is illegal, but common, especially in the urban centres and the south of the country. UNAIDS estimates there are 1,200 prostitutes in the country. Many are from Cameroon.
Like many Sub-Saharan African countries, HIV is a problem in Chad. Sex workers are one of the high risk groups. Lack of understanding of the infection, low usage of condoms and poor access to healthcare contribute to a HIV prevalence rate of 20%. This figure is likely to be higher in the Lake Chad area.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Prostitution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is legal but the Congolese penal code punishes pimping, running a bawdy house or brothel, the exploitation of debauchery or prostitution, as well as forced prostitution. Activities that incite minors or promote the prostitution of others have been criminalised. UNAIDS estimated there are 2.9 million sex workers in the country. Many Congolese prostitutes are from abroad or homeless children who have been accused of witchcraft.
During the colonial era and the years that followed independence, the Ministry of Health issued calling cards identifying professional sex workers and provided them with medical health checks. However, this system was abandoned in the 1980s. Public order laws are sometimes used against sex workers. Street prostitutes report harassment, violence and extortion from the police.
Equatorial Guinea
Prostitution in Equatorial Guinea is illegal. UNAIDS estimate there to be about 6,000 prostitutes in the country. Sex trafficking is a problem in the country. Some Chinese women engage in prostitution in Equatorial Guinea.
Gabon
Prostitution in Gabon is illegal. UNAIDS estimate there to be about 400 prostitutes in the country. Sex trafficking is a problem Gabon.
During his trial in Paris in 1995, Italian fashion designer Francesco Smalto admitted providing the then President of Gabon, Omar Bongo with Parisian prostitutes to secure a tailoring business worth $600000 per year.
Republic of the Congo
Prostitution in the Republic of the Congo is illegal but commonplace. The government does not enforce the prohibition effectively.
Sex trafficking is a problem in the country.
East Africa
Burundi
Prostitution in Burundi is illegal but is commonplace and on the rise. Prostitution is prevalent in all areas of the country, and especially in the largest city and former capital, Bujumbura, and prior to the security crisis in 2015, the tourist areas around Lake Tanganyika. UNAIDS estimate there are 51,00 prostitutes in Burundi. Many women have turned to prostitution due to poverty.
Previously law enforcement made little effort to curb prostitution. Political pressures, including from the mayor of Bujumbura, Freddy Mbonimpa, have led to crackdowns all over the country.
HIV, sex trafficking and child prostitution are problems in the country.
Comoros
Prostitution in Comoros is illegal. It is openly practices in the hotels frequented by foreign nationals. UNAIDS estimate there are 200 prostitutes on the islands.
Comoros is a source country for children subjected to sex trafficking within the country. Women and girls are reportedly subjected to sex trafficking in Comoros. Comorians may be particularly vulnerable to transnational trafficking due to a lack of adequate border controls, corruption within the administration, and the existence of international criminal networks involved in human smuggling.
Djibouti
Prostitution in Djibouti is illegal, but tolerated. UNAIDS estimate there are 2,900 prostitutes in the country. Many work from bars and nightclubs. There is a red-light district in Djibouti City.
Due to its strategic position, troops from United States, China, France, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Italy. Russia, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom are stationed in bases in Djibouti. The presence of these troops increases the demand for prostitution. During an investigation in 2015, it was found almost half of the Engineering Department of the Tennessee Army National Guard had used prostitutes whilst stationed in Djibouti.
Eritrea
Prostitution in Eritrea is legal and regulated. Official figures state there are around 2,000 prostitutes in the country, who are not allowed to operate near schools, hospitals, and churches. According to the 2009 Human Rights Reports, security forces occasionally follow women engaged in prostitution and arrest those who had spent the night with a foreigner. Some women enter prostitution due to poverty.
Prostitutes are known locally as "shermuta" in Arabic, or "mnzerma" and "me'amn" in Tigrinya.
Ethiopia
Prostitution in Ethiopia is legal, but procuring (operating brothels, benefiting from prostitution, etc.) is illegal according to Article 634 of the Ethiopian Penal Code, as revised May 2005."2008 Human Rights Reports: Ethiopia – Section 5 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons", United States Department of State website (accessed 26 May 2009) Many feel it has contributed to the increased incidence of AIDS.Kathleen Griffin, "Ethiopia – HIV/AIDS", Canadian Community Newspapers Association (accessed 26 May 2009) UNAIDS estimate there are over 29,358 prostitutes in the major cities.
Ethiopia has become a magnet for sex tourism, including child sex tourism.
In 2015, Ethiopian scriptwriter and film director, Hermon Hailay, directed the film Price of Love, which was inspired by her experiences growing up close to prostitutes.
Kenya
Prostitution in Kenya is widespread. The legal situation is complex. Although prostitution is not criminalised by National law, municipal by-laws may prohibit prostitution. (Nairobi banned all sex work in December 2017). It is illegal to profit from the prostitution of others, and to aid, abet, compel or incite prostitution. (Sections 153 and 154 of the Penal Code).
Many foreign men and women take part in sex tourism, which is thriving at resorts along Kenya's coast. Thousands of girls and boys are involved in full-time child prostitutionLa explotación sexual de menores en Kenia alcanza una dimensión horrible – UNICEF España. Unicef.es (17 January 2007). Retrieved on 9 May 2011. due to poverty in the region.
Madagascar
Prostitution in Madagascar is legal and common, especially in tourist areas. Related activities such as soliciting, procuring, living off the earnings of prostitution or keeping a brothel are prohibited. Public Order laws are also used against prostitutes. There are recent laws against "consorting with female prostitutes". People caught paying for sex with children under 14 can face criminal penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment. This is strictly enforced against foreign tourists. As well as in the tourist areas, prostitution also occurs around the mining towns of the interior such as Ilakaka and Andilamena. It was estimated that there were 167,443 sex workers in the country in 2014.
Malawi
Prostitution in Malawi is legal and prevalent around hotels and bars in urban and tourist areas. Living off the proceeds of prostitution is illegal. In 2015, it was estimated there were 20,000 sex workers in the country.
Prostitution occurs around the logging centres of Luwawa, Nthungwa, Raiply and Kalungulu. The prostitutes work from small shacks around the villages in the forests.
Human trafficking, HIV and child prostitution are problems in the country.
Mauritius
Prostitution in Mauritius is illegal but practised in parts of Port Louis and other towns. Many turn to prostitution through poverty. UNAIDS estimate there to be 6,223 prostitutes in the country.
The country is a destination for sex tourism, especially child sex tourism.
Mayotte
Prostitution in Mayotte occurs on the ring road and in the villages of Mtsapere and Kaweni in the commune of Mamoudzou. Many of the prostitutes are illegal immigrants from Madagascar and Comoros, who are transported to the islands at night in kwassa-kwassa boats. An area in Passamainty, also part of the Mamoudzou commune, used for drugs and prostitution, was destroyed by locals in July 2016.
Mozambique
Prostitution in Mozambique is legal and widely practised, and the country also contains illegal brothels. The majority of the population remains below the poverty line, a situation which provides fertile soil for the development of prostitution.
The arrival of peacekeepers operating under the auspices of the UN resulted in an increase in the prostitution industry. In 1992, prostitution in Mozambique had reached such proportions that the post of mediator was created between the military on the one hand and pimps and prostitutes on the other. The problem of prostitution in Mozambique came under international discussion for the first time in the mid 1990s, when the deputy head of the UN mission Behrouz Sadri accused UN peacekeepers of buying sex from underage prostitutes.
Réunion
Following the French law prohibiting "passive soliciting" in 2003, street prostitution in Réunion was greatly reduced. Many prostitutes now use classified advertisements in newspapers such as "Clicanoo" (Journal de l'île de La Réunion) and the internet. Some students at the University of La Réunion use prostitution to fund their way through university.
Rwanda