Thailand ranked in the top 10 globally for sex workers

Thailand is one of the ten countries with the highest number of sex workers, with 250,000.

This figure comes from the International Union of Sex Workers (IUSW), a sex worker union based in the UK.

The IUSW has published global statistics on the sex industry under the title 'Statistics on sex workers by country and by sex'.

The report, updated this year, estimates more than 50 million sex workers worldwide, including 41.6 million women and 10.4 million men.

The IUSF expects this number to likely increase in the future due to the multiplication of opportunities and channels for providing sex-related services.

The 10 countries with the most sex workers

Women in front of a gogo bar in Thailand.

The report ranked countries with the largest number of sex workers:

1. China (five million sex workers);
2. India (three million);
3. The United States (one million);
4. The Philippines (800,000);
5. Mexico (500,000);
6. Germany (400,000);
7. Brazil (250,000);
8. La Thaïlande (250 000) ;
9. Bangladesh (200,000);
10. South Korea (147,000).

A prohibited profession in Thailand

XXL women's prostitution network dismantled by Thai police.

Although Thailand is among the top ten countries in the world, government officials continue to ignore their existence and oppose it.

Sex work in Thailand is considered illegal under the law on the prevention and suppression of prostitution, although the industry is widely recognized.

See: Prostitution in Thailand, what you need to know

Several political activists and sex workers themselves are advocating for legalization, with the aim of granting sex workers access to labor rights comparable to those of other professions.

See: Will prostitution become legal in Thailand?

Chatchalawan Mueangchan, a human rights activist from the Empower Foundation, explained that a law on the protection of sex services had been drafted and submitted to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (M-Society) more than five years ago.

Although it has been the subject of several referendums, the law has not progressed.

Chatchalawan and other representatives of the sex industry in Thailand have recently called for the law to be improved at the beginning of this year.

The issue was raised again on the occasion of Labor Day.

Many people have emphasized that sex work is indeed work and that, therefore, sex workers should have access to the same rights as other workers.

See also:

8 Laotian women arrested in Thailand for prostitution

Thailand dismantles a XXXL women's prostitution ring

4 Thai women deceived on TikTok and forced into prostitution in Myanmar

140 Thai women kidnapped and forced into prostitution in Myanmar

The bill on prostitution in Thailand sets the legal age at 20 years

Source: The Thaiger