Abortion statistics

There are 56 million abortions every year and the global annual rate of abortion is 35 per every 1,000 women. 25% of all pregnancies in the world end in abortions. The highest annual rate of abortion is in the Caribbean at 59 per 1,000 women, followed by South America, at 48. The lowest rate is in Western Europe at 16 per 1 000 women

Women in developing regions have a higher likelihood of having an abortion than those in developed regions—36 vs. 27 per 1,000. The estimated global abortion rate is 35 per 1,000 for married women and 26 per 1,000 for unmarried women. Eastern Europe experienced the largest decline in its abortion rate, from 88 to 42 per 1,000 between 1994 and 2014

Induced abortion is medically safe when WHO-recommended methods are used by trained persons, less safe when only one of those two criteria is met, and least safe when neither is met. Of the world’s 1.64 billion women of reproductive age, 6% live where abortion is banned outright, and 37% live where it is allowed without restriction as to reason.

As of 2010–2014, the overall abortion rate in Africa is 34 per 1,000 women. Subregional rates range from 31 in Western Africa to 38 in Northern Africa; abortion rates in these subregions have changed little or not at all since 1990–1994. Abortion rates range from 33 in Central America to 48 in South America to 59 in the Caribbean