Number of abortions
A total of 18,380 induced abortions were performed in New Zealand in the year ended December 2007, up from 17,930 in 2006 and 17,530 in 2005, but down from the peak of 18,510 induced abortions 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.
In 2007, the general abortion rate (abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years) was 20.1. This is an increase on 19.6 in 2006, but lower than the 2003 rate of 20.8. The general abortion rate was 17.6 per 1,000 in 1997.
The total abortion rate measures the average number of abortions that 1,000 women would have during their life (based on current age-specific abortion rates). The total abortion rate for 2007 was 619 abortions per 1,000 women, which is 16 percent higher than the rate of 534 per 1,000 recorded a decade earlier in 1997. However, the 2007 rate is 5 percent lower than the peak rate of 648 per 1,000 in 2003.
Abortions by age of women
Women aged 20–24 years have more abortions than any other age group, 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 2007), significantly higher than any other age group. 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 26 per 1,000 in 2007. Teenagers (15–19 years) had a slightly higher abortion rate (27 abortions per 1,000). 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 twenty years.
Proportion of known pregnancies ending in an abortion
In 2007, the abortion ratio was 220 abortions per 1,000 known pregnancies down 4 percent from 230 per 1,000 in 2006. The decrease in the proportion of pregnancies ending in an induced abortion resulted from an 8 percent increase in births offset by a 2 percent increase in induced abortions. Known pregnancies include live births, stillbirths and induced abortions combined.
Previous abortions
In 2007, 65 percent of abortions were a woman's first abortion, compared with 70 percent in 1997. Twelve percent of women having an abortion in 2007 had had two or more previous abortions, compared with 8 percent in 1997.
Duration of pregnancy
Most abortions are performed during the ninth to the eleventh week of gestation. In 2007, 19 percent of abortions were performed during the ninth week of gestation, 20 percent during the tenth week, and 17 percent during the eleventh week.
Ethnicity
Women having an abortion can state more than one ethnicity on the abortion notification form. For this reason, some abortions are counted more than once in the ethnicity figures and ethnic group totals sum to more than the total number of abortions.
In 2007, there were 10,550 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 4,300 abortions to women who identified with the Māori ethnic group, 2,950 women identified with the Asian ethnic group, 2,290 women identified with the Pacific ethnic group and 200 women identified with the MELAA (Middle Eastern, Latin American and African) grouping. Of the 50 women in the 'Other' ethnic group, almost all identified with the New Zealander 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 rates should be interpreted with care.
International data for 2007 is not available for many countries, so comparisons have generally been made using 2006 data. In 2006, the general abortion rate (abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years) for New Zealand was 19.6 per 1,000. Germany (7.3), the Netherlands (8.6 in 2005), Scotland (12.5), Denmark (14.3), Norway (15.5) and England and Wales (17.5) had lower rates. In Australia (19.3 in 2004), the United States (19.4 in 2005) and Sweden (20.6), the abortion rate was similar to New Zealand.
For technical information contact:
Anne Howard
Christchurch 03 964 8700
Email: demography@stats.govt.nz