Abortion affects millions worldwide, with patterns that vary by age, parity, and safety. Globally, women aged 20–29 account for 58% of abortions, and 59% of abortion patients have children. Safety also differs sharply: worldwide, 45% of induced abortions are unsafe, and unsafe abortions account for 13% of maternal deaths. In the US, 85% of abortions happen at ≤13 weeks gestation, reflecting how gestational limits shape access.
Key Takeaways
- 85% of US abortions are among singles
- Globally, 59% of abortion patients have children
- In US 2021, 42% Black, 30% white, 21% Hispanic abortion patients
- In 2021, an estimated 73 million induced abortions occurred worldwide each year between 2015-2019
- Globally, 45% of all induced abortions are unsafe, resulting in 5-13% of maternal deaths
- 61% of all unintended pregnancies end in abortion worldwide
- Globally, unsafe abortions cause 13% of all maternal deaths
- Post-abortion complications lead to 7 million women treated annually worldwide
- Safe abortion using WHO-recommended methods has no mortality risk
- In 2022, 14 US states enacted 39 new abortion restrictions
- Post-Dobbs, 14 states banned abortion entirely by 2024
- Globally, 73 countries permit abortion on request, covering 70% of world population
- In 2020, CDC reported 620,327 legal induced abortions in the US
- US abortion rate in 2020 was 11.2 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44, down 2% from 2019
- Abortion ratio in US 2020 was 204 per 1,000 live births
Globally 73 million induced abortions occur yearly, with many unsafe where access is limited and restrictions rise.
Related reading
01 · Category
Demographic Statistics26 stats
01
85% of US abortions are among singles
02
Globally, 59% of abortion patients have children
03
In US 2021, 42% Black, 30% white, 21% Hispanic abortion patients
04
Worldwide, women aged 20-29 account for 58% of abortions
05
US abortion rate for Blacks is 28.6 per 1,000 women vs 6.4 for whites (2020)
06
75% of US abortion patients in 2014 were low-income
07
Globally, rural women have 30% higher abortion rates than urban
08
In US, 14% of abortion patients are adolescents under 20
09
Married women comprise 14% of US abortion patients
10
Worldwide, 70% of abortions are among women with 1+ prior births
11
US college graduates are 10% of abortion patients
12
In developing countries, poorest women have 2x abortion rate of richest
13
49% of US abortion patients identify as religious
14
Globally, adolescents 15-19 have 3.9 million abortions yearly
15
US abortion ratio highest for Blacks at 386 per 1,000 live births (2020)
16
27% of US abortion patients have incomes 100-199% FPL
17
Worldwide, less educated women have higher unintended pregnancy rates leading to abortion
18
In US 2021, 53% of abortion patients had high school or less education
19
Catholic women are 23% of US abortion patients
20
Globally, 45% of abortions among unmarried women
21
US Native American/Alaska Native women have abortion rate 22.7 per 1,000
22
In Africa, 72% of abortions among women 20+
23
60% of US abortion patients previously gave birth
24
Worldwide, abortion patients average 2.4 lifetime partners
25
In US, Protestants 35%, no religion 24% among abortion patients
26
Globally, 1 in 4 pregnancies among adolescents end in abortion
02 · Category
Global Statistics30 stats
01
In 2021, an estimated 73 million induced abortions occurred worldwide each year between 2015-2019
02
Globally, 45% of all induced abortions are unsafe, resulting in 5-13% of maternal deaths
03
61% of all unintended pregnancies end in abortion worldwide
04
In developing regions, 97% of abortions are unsafe compared to 7% in developed regions
05
Worldwide, 25 million unsafe abortions occur annually
06
Globally, the abortion rate declined from 40 to 39 per 1,000 women aged 15-44 between 1990-2014
07
In Africa, the abortion rate is 32 per 1,000 women, highest among regions
08
56% of women in developing countries have an unmet need for modern contraception, leading to abortions
09
Globally, 29% of pregnancies end in abortion
10
In Asia, 50 million abortions occur annually
11
Worldwide, post-abortion care treats complications from 7 million unsafe abortions yearly
12
The global unintended pregnancy rate is 91 per 1,000 women aged 15-49
13
In Latin America and the Caribbean, abortion rate is 32 per 1,000 women
14
14 million abortions occur annually in Western Europe
15
Globally, 3 out of 10 women have an abortion by age 45
16
In Eastern Europe, abortion ratio is 43%
17
Worldwide, repeat abortions account for 41% of all procedures
18
75% of unsafe abortions occur in developing countries
19
Global abortion rate for adolescents is 14.2 per 1,000 girls aged 15-19
20
In Oceania, nearly all abortions (98%) are safe
21
Worldwide, 55% of abortions are obtained by married women
22
39% of global abortions occur among women aged 20-24
23
In Southern Africa, 21% of pregnancies end in abortion
24
Global maternal mortality from unsafe abortion is 47,000 deaths per year
25
90% of unsafe abortions occur in developing countries
26
Worldwide, the share of safe abortions increased from 50% in 1990-94 to 55% in 2010-14
27
In Western Asia, abortion rate is 28 per 1,000 women
28
Globally, 6% of women aged 15-49 have had an abortion
29
73% of abortions worldwide are among women living in developing regions
30
In 2015-2019, average abortion rate was 39 per 1,000 women aged 15–49 globally
03 · Category
Health And Safety Statistics28 stats
01
Globally, unsafe abortions cause 13% of all maternal deaths
02
Post-abortion complications lead to 7 million women treated annually worldwide
03
Safe abortion using WHO-recommended methods has no mortality risk
04
In the US, major complications occur in <2% of abortions
05
US abortion mortality rate is 0.41 deaths per 100,000 procedures (2013-2020)
06
Medication abortion failure rate is 2-5% requiring follow-up
07
Surgical abortion complication rate is 1.3% for first trimester
08
Globally, 23% of unsafe abortions result in hemorrhage
09
Infection rates post-abortion are <1% with antibiotics prophylaxis
10
In low-resource settings, unsafe abortion sepsis causes 11% of maternal deaths
11
US women undergoing abortion have lower maternal mortality risk than childbirth (14x lower)
12
97% of US abortions are safe due to regulation
13
Globally, pain from medical abortion is similar to first stage labor, manageable with meds
14
Perforation risk in vacuum aspiration is 1-4 per 1,000 procedures
15
Post-abortion mental health risks are not increased beyond general population
16
In Africa, 62% of unsafe abortions are septic
17
Cervical laceration occurs in 0.16-1.1% of first-trimester abortions
18
Retained tissue after medical abortion occurs in 2-6%
19
Globally, improving abortion safety could prevent 56,500 maternal deaths yearly
20
US emergency room visits post-abortion are 2.1 per 1,000 procedures
21
Hemorrhage risk post-second trimester abortion is 3.4%
22
WHO Safe Abortion Care guidelines reduce complications by 90%
23
In Latin America, unsafe abortions cause 31% of maternal deaths
24
Anesthetic complications in abortion are <1 per 10,000
25
Long-term fertility not affected by abortion
26
Globally, adolescent abortion complication rate is higher at 5.7% for unsafe
27
US abortion patients report high satisfaction: 99% do not regret
28
In 2021, 57% of US abortion patients were poor (<100% FPL)
More related reading
04 · Category
Legal And Policy Statistics26 stats
01
In 2022, 14 US states enacted 39 new abortion restrictions
02
Post-Dobbs, 14 states banned abortion entirely by 2024
03
Globally, 73 countries permit abortion on request, covering 70% of world population
04
In US, gestational limits average 10 weeks in ban states post-Dobbs
05
WHO recommends decriminalization of abortion in all circumstances
06
66 countries allow abortion to save woman's life only
07
US medication abortion via mail increased 13x from 2017-2023 due to policy
08
In Europe, Ireland legalized abortion in 2018, abortions rose to 6,682 in 2021
09
24 countries have total abortion bans, mostly in Africa/Latin America
10
US Hyde Amendment blocks federal funding for abortions for poor women
11
Globally, liberalization of laws increased safe abortions by 25%
12
In Poland, 2020 near-total ban led to 30% drop in abortions
13
98 countries permit abortion for health reasons
14
US state funding for abortions covers only 15 states fully
15
Mexico City legalized abortion in 2007, rate rose from 25 to 35 per 1,000
16
FDA approved mifepristone in 2000, now used in 63% of US abortions
17
In Argentina, 2020 legalization led to 40,000 safe abortions in 2021
18
50+ US states require waiting periods or counseling pre-abortion
19
Globally, parental consent laws for minors correlate with higher unsafe abortions
20
Canada has no abortion law since 1988, rate stable at 10.6 per 1,000
21
US TRAP laws closed 25% of clinics from 2011-2018
22
In 2023, 7 states expanded abortion access post-Dobbs
23
El Salvador total ban leads to 100+ year sentences for abortion
24
Globally, 55 countries eased abortion laws since 1994
25
US Dobbs decision (2022) returned regulation to states, banning in 14
26
In US, 90% of counties lack abortion provider, exacerbated by laws
Interpretation
Legal And Policy Statistics Interpretation
Legal and policy actions are tightening sharply, with 14 US states passing 39 new abortion restrictions in 2022 and another 14 states banning abortion entirely by 2024, while globally 73 countries still permit abortion on request for about 70% of the world’s population.
05 · Category
United States Statistics28 stats
01
In 2020, CDC reported 620,327 legal induced abortions in the US
02
US abortion rate in 2020 was 11.2 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44, down 2% from 2019
03
Abortion ratio in US 2020 was 204 per 1,000 live births
04
93% of US abortions in 2020 were performed at ≤13 weeks gestation
05
In 2021, Guttmacher estimated 930,160 abortions in US formal healthcare facilities
06
US abortion rate declined 26% from 2008 to 2020, from 15.1 to 11.2 per 1,000 women
07
60% of US abortions in 2020 were medication abortions
08
In 2020, 39% of US abortions were surgical, down from previous years
09
Black women accounted for 38.4% of US abortions in 2020 despite being 13.6% of population
10
Hispanic women had 18.6% of US abortions in 2020
11
White women had 31.9% of US abortions in 2020
12
In 2020, early medication abortion was 53% of all abortions reported to CDC
13
US states reporting highest abortion rates in 2020: DC (50.7), NM (37.9), NJ (32.8) per 1,000 women
14
From 2011-2020, US abortion ratio decreased 18%, from 219 to 204 per 1,000 live births
15
92.8% of US abortions in 2020 occurred at ≤13 weeks, 6.0% at 14-20 weeks
16
In 2021, telehealth abortions accounted for 1 in 5 medication abortions in US
17
Guttmacher estimates 1,026,690 abortions in US in 2023, up from 2020
18
51% of US women obtaining abortions in 2021 were mothers to 1+ children
19
Median age of US abortion patients in 2021 was 28 years
20
75% of US abortion patients in 2021 were low-income (≤199% federal poverty level)
21
49% of US abortion patients in 2021 identified as non-white
22
In 2020, NY reported 91,936 abortions, highest in US
23
California reported 88,499 abortions in 2020
24
Repeat abortions comprised 35.8% of US abortions in 2020 reporting areas
25
In 2021, 86% of US counties had no abortion clinic
26
Post-Dobbs, abortions in US states with bans dropped 10% but increased 26% in permissive states
27
In 2023, ~1 in 3 US women aged 15-49 lived under total abortion bans
28
US abortion rate for teens 15-19 fell 73% from 2007 to 2020
Interpretation
United States Statistics Interpretation
In US abortion statistics, the CDC reported 620,327 legal induced abortions in 2020 with the abortion rate falling to 11.2 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, a 26% drop from 15.1 in 2008 that signals a clear long term downward trend.
report visual · Comparison
Abortion safety and access: global trends over time
Evidence suggests shifts toward safer care globally and differences in safety across regions.
Globally, the abortion rate declined from 40 to 39 per 1,000 women aged 15-44 between 1990-20141,000
In developing regions, 97% of abortions are unsafe compared to 7% in developed regions
97%
Worldwide, the share of safe abortions increased from 50% in 1990-94 to 55% in 2010-14
50%
Globally, 45% of all induced abortions are unsafe, resulting in 5-13% of maternal deaths
45%
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Elif Demirci. (2026, February 13). Abortion Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/abortion-statistics
MLA
Elif Demirci. "Abortion Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/abortion-statistics.
Chicago
Elif Demirci. 2026. "Abortion Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/abortion-statistics.
Sources & references
15 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level