Number of abortions
The number of abortions performed in New Zealand has dropped for the second consecutive year. A total of 17,530 induced abortions were performed in New Zealand in the December 2005 year, down from 18,210 in 2004 and 18,510 in 2003.
Abortion rates
It is important to note that comparisons over time in abortion rates and in the number of abortions are affected by the legal environment and the provision of abortion services.
The general abortion rate (abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years) decreased from 21.0 in 2003 to 20.5 in 2004, and then to 19.7 in 2005. The general abortion rate was 16.1 per 1,000 in 1995.
Based on 2005 age-specific abortion rates, 1,000 New Zealand women could expect to have 611 induced abortions during their reproductive life (this is known as the total abortion rate). The total abortion rate for 2005 is 27 percent higher than the rate of 479 per 1,000 recorded a decade earlier in 1995. However, the 2005 rate is 7 percent lower than the peak rate of 654 per 1,000 in 2003.
Abortions by age of women
Women aged 20–24 years have more abortions than other age groups, accounting for approximately 3 out of 10 abortions in any year. Women in this age group also had the highest abortion rate (37 abortions per 1,000 women aged 20–24 years in 2005). Beyond age 24, both the number of abortions and the abortion rate decreased with increasing age. Women aged 25–29 years had an abortion rate of 27 per 1,000 in 2005. Teenagers (15–19 years) had a slightly lower abortion rate (25 abortions per 1,000). Between 2004 and 2005, abortion rates decreased for all women aged 15 years and over. The median age (half are younger, and half older, than this age) of women having an abortion has remained stable at around 25 years over the last decade.
Previous abortions
Most abortions (64 percent) in 2004 and 2005 were first abortions, compared with 72 percent in 1995. Eleven percent of women having an abortion in 2005 had had two or more previous abortions.
Duration of pregnancy
More abortions were performed during the tenth week of gestation than at any other length of gestation. In 2005, about one in five abortions took place in the tenth week of gestation.
Ethnicity
Ethnic data for 2002 onwards is based on a question that aligns with the 2001 Census of Population and Dwellings question on ethnicity. Each abortion has been included in every ethnic group specified. For this reason, some abortions are counted more than once and ethnic group totals sum to more than the New Zealand total. Ethnic data for 2002 onwards is not strictly comparable with ethnic data for earlier years.
In 2005, there were 9,730 abortions to women who identified with the European ethnic group (either as their only ethnic group or as one of their ethnic groups). There were 3,880 abortions to women who identified with the Māori ethnic group, 2,960 were to women who identified with the Asian ethnic group, and 2,050 were to women who identified with the Pacific ethnic group.
International comparisons
International comparisons are affected by both statistical coverage and laws relating to induced abortion. Consequently, differences between New Zealand and other countries' abortion indices should be interpreted with care.
In 2004, the general abortion rate (abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years) for New Zealand was 20.5 per 1,000. Germany (7.7), Scotland (11.8), Denmark (14.4), Norway (15.3), and England and Wales (16.9) had lower rates. In Australia (19.7 in 2003), Sweden (20.0) and the United States (20.9 in 2002), the abortion rate was similar to the New Zealand level.
For technical information contact:
Anne Howard or Gillian Smeith
Christchurch 03 964 8700
Email: demography@stats.govt.nz