The incidence of male neonatal circumcision in New Zealand rose to about 95% in the 1940s. The incidence of male neonatal non-therapeutic circumcision started to decline about 1950.

At the present time the incidence of neonatal circumcision in New Zealand is very low. In fact, it may be the lowest of all English speaking nations. A circumcision rate of 0.35% was reported in 1995 in public hospitals. However, virtually all of the about 100,000 Samoan and Tongan males living in New Zealand are circumcised, with no sign of the custom easing. For more information on circumcision in New Zealand visit The Rise and Fall of Circumcision in New Zealand. (link to www.circumstitions.com)

See also:

• McGrath, Ken, and Hugh Young, "A Review of Circumcision in New Zealand". Understanding Circumcision, George C. Denniston, Frederick Mansfield Hodges, and Marilyn Fayre Milos, eds. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 2001, 129-146.