Prostitution Sub-Saharan Africa · 47 countries covered
Prostitution laws in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Decriminalisation 4
- Regulation (legal & licensed) 12
- Legal, organisation banned 99
- Buying criminalised (Nordic model) 12
- Selling and buying prohibited 69
- Not covered yet
- Legal 45
- Legal under licence / registration 9
- Legal with restrictions 73
- Illegal 64
- Varies by region 5
- Not covered yet
- Legal under licence / registration 12
- Legal with restrictions 11
- Illegal 170
- Varies by region 3
- Not covered yet
- Legal 7
- Legal with restrictions 104
- Illegal 81
- Varies by region 4
- Not covered yet
Selling sexual services, for an adult acting consensually.Brothels and managed venues, for an adult acting consensually.Advertising sexual services, for an adult acting consensually.
By legal model
No prostitution-specific criminal law. Sex work is regulated like other work.
Selling sex and running venues are legal under a licensing or registration regime.
Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Buying sex is an offence; selling it is not (the "Nordic" or "Equality" model).
Selling sex is an offence (criminal or administrative), whether or not buying is.
Cameroon, Comoros, Liberia, Mauritania, Somalia, South Africa, The Gambia, Uganda
Read this first
A country's model is a simplification. States, cities and regions add their own rules, and enforcement matters as much as the statute. Each profile spells out the detail and how we classify.
All countries in Sub-Saharan Africa
| Country | Model | Profile | Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Benin | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Botswana | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Burkina Faso | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Burundi | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Cabo Verde | Decriminalisation | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Cameroon | Selling and buying prohibited | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Central African Republic | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Chad | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Comoros | Selling and buying prohibited | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Djibouti | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Eritrea | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Eswatini | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Ethiopia | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Gabon | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Ghana | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Guinea | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Guinea-Bissau | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Kenya | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Lesotho | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Liberia | Selling and buying prohibited | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Madagascar | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Malawi | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Mali | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Mauritania | Selling and buying prohibited | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Mauritius | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Mozambique | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Namibia | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Niger | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Nigeria | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Republic of the Congo | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Rwanda | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Senegal | Regulation (legal & licensed) | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Seychelles | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Sierra Leone | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Somalia | Selling and buying prohibited | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| South Africa | Selling and buying prohibited | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| South Sudan | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Tanzania | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| The Gambia | Selling and buying prohibited | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Togo | Buying criminalised (Nordic model) | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Uganda | Selling and buying prohibited | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Zambia | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |
| Zimbabwe | Legal, organisation banned | Overview | 30 October 2026 |