Prostitution in the Netherlands is legal and regulated. Operating a brothel is also legal. De Wallen , the largest and best-known Red-light district in Amsterdam, is a destination for international sex tourism. As with other countries, estimates regarding the total number of prostitutes vary. Most sources place this number between 15, and 30, An article published in in the International Encyclopedia of Sexuality claimed that the total number of prostitutes in the Netherlands was about 15, to 20, In the s, the majority of foreign prostitutes were from Thailand, in the s from Latin America and the Caribbean.
No more than one third were Dutch nationals, the remainder representing 44 nationalities. In , Karina Schaapman, a former prostitute and former member of the Amsterdam city council , produced a report about the Amsterdam sex trade.
She offered the police a Facebook with 80 "violent pimps", of whom only three were Dutch-born. Drug addicts, including drug tourists, were said to be numerous in the street prostitution group. According to Radio Netherlands , prostitution is concentrated in and around the big cities and in the border towns in the regions of Limburg , Groningen , Twente , West Brabant and Zeeland.
Prostitution occurs in various forms: window and street prostitution, clubs, escort agencies, and home-based prostitution. Window prostitution occurs in 12 cities in the Netherlands. It is estimated that on average some 2, prostitutes are engaged daily in this form of prostitution. Street prostitution exists in 10 Dutch cities and involves on average some prostitutes daily. Between 3, and 4, prostitutes are employed daily in β clubs and private brothels. The extent of other forms of prostitution such as escort agencies and home-based prostitution is much more difficult to estimate.
Home-based prostitution occurs in at least 17 municipalities and escort agencies exist in at least 28 municipalities. In , city statistic showed licensed brothels in Amsterdam, with about window displays, and officials estimated that sexual transactions in Amsterdam account for about million US dollars per year. Most prostitution consists of females selling sex to males. In Dutch authorities started asking sex workers to pay taxes on their earnings. Some Dutch cities provide facilities called "afwerkplek", a sex drive-in enclosure for cars for street prostitution.
