Comedian Steve Martin once said, "I believe that sex is one of the most beautiful, natural, wholesome things that money can buy." Simply put, sex is a part of life. As a result, prostitution has been around forever and will continue to be. Let's explore the world of prostitution. We'll look at how common it really is, explore the common misconceptions about prostitutes and those that employ their services, and look at some of the strangest facts about prostitution.

According to an article in Business Insider, there were somewhere between 40 and 42 million prostitutes working worldwide in 2012. Approximately ¾ are between the ages of 18 and 25 and 80% are female. There's no real surprise there. Breaking down the numbers further, we learn that Venezuela is home to the most sex workers with 119 per every 10,000 people. Followed by South Korea, Peru (perfectly legal if you register with the government and carry around a health certificate), the Philippines (known as "bargirls", they wear ID tags around their neck to avoid any confusion), and in fifth place, Nigeria. However, Nigeria is a tad different from other countries. You see, this is where older, divorced women (and men) from the western world head when they are in need of a "male companion." Who knew that?

Undoubtedly, you are wondering what kind of money prostitutes make and how frequently they see clients. According to the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), prostitutes in the US charge between $20 and $50 for oral sex and $50 to $100 to go further per client.
 article about prostitution statistics
On a typical working day, they average between 3 and 5 clients. Now, these figures are based on your average prostitute, but there are also high-end call girls (the classy term for a prostitute). This is where the serious money lies. According to an interview conducted by TheDirty.com (very entertaining website) with a former madam, clients can be charged anywhere from $3,000 an hour and up. Of course, this doesn't include the tip. Girls in this category tend to see one client per night.

Googling "what do you think about prostitutes" results in millions of hits. Most answers run along the lines of dirty, stupid, trashy, and a wide variety of other derogatory answers. However, this is not true. College students throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States are turning to prostitution working as high-end call girls to pay for books and tuition. There is a simple reason behind this. Money. The hourly wages made as a prostitute are significantly higher than any other job a college student could get. They are able to make more money while working less hours.
 article about prostitution statistics

So, who exactly are these clients paying for prostitutes? According to a survey conducted in the United States by the National Opinion Research Center in 2012, 14% of American men have paid for the services of a prostitute at some point in their life. The majority of these men have served in the military and hold a full time job. Far more are married with children that you would think. So, why do they do visit a prostitute? Simple, she will do the types of things their wives will not or they have a desire for a different type of woman. For example, a middle-aged man who has always wanted to be treated like a "bad boy" by an Asian girl half his age wearing pigtails, sucking her thumb. (You can't make this stuff up.)

Craigslist is the world's highest paid pimp


 article about prostitution statistics
That leads to the question of where to find a prostitute. The number one answer is no longer a street corner. In today's high tech world, Craigslist is the go to place to meet a potential partner. Here's the thing. Craigslist is the world's highest paid pimp. Let me explain. Craigslist charges $10 for adult ads and until recently they gave this money to charity and maintained that they removed all ads that included sex for money. But then someone did the math. In 2013, they quietly stopped donating this money to charity. Instead, they opted to keep the estimated $36 million in revenue they were generating from adult service ads. No, Three 6 Mafia, it's really not so "Hard out Here for a Pimp" named Craigslist.

Here's something interesting. Whoever is counting Craigslist's money will likely not be counting $2 bills. They can thank prostitution for all those dollar bills. When the $2 bill was introduced in the early 1900's, the going price for a prostitute was $2. Everyone assumed women paying with a $2 bill were prostitutes and believed men using them for payment liked the company of prostitutes. It was forever tainted. Now, there are $2 bills in production, but you rarely see them. As for a $2 prostitute, those days are long gone.

Now, you know a tad more about the world of prostitution. Whether it's something to glue to the back of your head or to forget at once, that's already another thing.