Abortion Services in New Zealand

Abortion Statistics

The Abortion Supervisory Committee has a legal obligation to collect statistics on abortion. Statistics are collected anonymously from every abortion patient by the abortion provider, by completing a form called an "ASC4 ". These statistics are collated by Statistics New Zealand.

Statistics from 1997-2008 can be found on the Statistics New Zealand website www.stats.govt.nz

Also available from this website is a paper containing tables and graphs "Abortion Trends in New Zealand 1980-2007"

For your information, we have included the latest tables from 2008 although at this stage data is incomplete.

Induced Abortion Statistics 1980-2008

December
Year		 Number of Induced
Abortions(1)		 Crude Abortion
Rate(2)		 General Abortion
Rate(3)		 Crude Abortion
Ratio(4)(5)
1980 5,945 1.9 8.5 105
1985 7,130 2.2 9.3 120
1990 11,173 3.3 14.0 156
1991 11,613 3.3 14.0 162
1992 11,595 3.3 13.9 163
1993 11,893 3.3 14.3 168
1994 12,835 3.5 15.3 182
1995 13,652 3.7 16.1 191
1996 14,805 4.0 17.3 204
1997 15,208 4.0 17.6 208
1998 15,029 3.9 17.4 207
1999 15,501 4.0 18.0 213
2000 16,103 4.2 18.7 220
2001 16,410 4.2 19.1 226
2002 17,380 4.4 20.0 242
2003 18,511 4.6 21.0 247
2004 18,211 4.5 20.5

237
2005 17,531 4.3 19.7 232
2006 17,934 4.3 20.0 231
2007 18,382 4.3 20.1 222
2008 17.940 4.2 19.7 217

(1) Induced abortions registered in New Zealand. (Obtained from the Abortion Supervisory Committee.)
(2) Per 1,000 mean estimated population.
(3) Per 1,000 mean estimated number of women aged 15-44 years.
(4) Per 1,000 live births, stillbirths and abortions.
(5) The crude abortion ratio for 1998 is based on the total number of birth notifications received by the Department of Internal Affairs. The abortion ratio for all other years is based on the number of births registered.

Note: Abortion rates from 1991 onwards are based on the mean estimated resident population. Before 1991, abortion rates are based on the mean estimated de facto population.

Induced Abortions by Number of Previous Abortions(1) 1991-2008

December
Year		 Number of Previous Abortions
None One Two or More
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
1991 8,913 76.8 2,163 18.6 537 4.6
1992 8,716 75.2 2,249 19.4 630 5.4
1993 8,813 74.1 2,340 19.7 740 6.2
1994 9,400 73.2 2,613 20.4 822 6.4
1995 9,806 71.8 2,892 21.2 954 7.0
1996 10,576 71.4 3,162 21.4 1,067 7.2
1997 10,667 70.1 3,356 22.1 1,185 7.8
1998 10,302 68.5 3,504 23.3 1,223 8.1
1999 10,442 67.4 3,710 23.9 1,349 8.7
2000 10,710 66.5 3,851 23.9 1,542 9.6
2001 10,830 66.0 3,961 24.1 1,619 9.9
2002 11,458 65.9 4,164 24.0 1,758 10.1
2003 12,169 65.7 4,473 24.2 1,869 10.1
2004 11,696 64.2 4,490 24.7 2,025 11.1
2005 11,210 63.9 4,345 24.8 1,876 11.3
2006 11,548 64.4 4,360 24.3 2,026 11.3
2007 11,884 64.7 4,380 23.8 2,118 11.5
2008 11,312 63.1 4,469 24.9 2,159 12.0

(1) Obtained from the Abortion Supervisory Committee.

Note: The number of abortions refers to induced abortions registered in New Zealand.

Induced Abortions by Age of Woman(1) 1991-2008

December
Year		 Age Group (years)
11-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45 and
over		 Total
Number
1991 43 2,283 3,450 2,592 1,845 1,085 300 15 11,613
1992 42 2,232 3,398 2,661 1,869 1,063 308 22 11,595
1993 52 2,250 3,575 2,608 1,920 1,142 322 24 11,893
1994 43 2,457 3,900 2,787 2,056 1,214 350 28 12,835
1995 42 2,594 4,164 2,985 2,158 1,282 390 37 13,652
1996 60 2,909 4,397 3,239 2,315 1,419 430 36 14,805
1997 56 2,906 4,484 3,378 2,369 1,502 492 21 15,208
1998 65 2,832 4,355 3,381 2,368 1,559 444 25 15,029
1999 56 2,846 4,477 3,447 2,435 1,642 560 38 15,501
2000 74 3,107 4,548 3,399 2,496 1,823 613 43 16,103
2001 66 3,240 4,728 3,450 2,555 1,730 593 48 16,410
2002 78 3,602 5,124 3,450 2,676 1,715 686 49 17,380
2003 89 3,757 5,670 3,619 2,800 1,846 692 38 18,511
2004 85 3,758 5,528 3,501 2,644 1,916 721 58 18,211
2005 92 3,718 5,203 3,491 2,520 1,773 687 47 17,531
2006 105 3,978 5,314 3,530 2,497 1,777 691 42 17,934
2007 104 4,173 5,445 3,574 2,547 1,814 667 58 18,382
2008 83 4,097 5,396 3,591 2,290 1,754 675 54 17,940
Percentage Distribution
1991 0.4 19.7 29.7 22.3 15.9 9.3 2.6 0.1 100.0
1992 0.4 19.2 29.3 22.9 16.1 9.2 2.7 0.2 100.0
1993 0.4 18.9 30.1 21.9 16.1 9.6 2.7 0.2 100.0
1994 0.3 19.1 30.4 21.7 16.0 9.5 2.7 0.2 100.0
1995 0.3 19.0 30.5 21.9 15.8 9.4 2.9 0.3 100.0
1996 0.4 19.6 29.7 21.9 15.6 9.6 2.9 0.2 100.0
1997 0.4 19.1 29.5 22.2 15.6 9.9 3.2 0.1 100.0
1998 0.4 18.8 29.0 22.5 15.8 10.4 3.0 0.2 100.0
1999 0.4 18.4 28.9 22.2 15.7 10.6 3.6 0.2 100.0
2000 0.5 19.3 28.2 21.1 15.5 11.3 3.8 0.3 100.0
2001 0.4 19.7 28.8 21.0 15.6 10.5 3.6 0.3 100.0
2002 0.4 20.7 29.5 19.9 15.4 9.9 3.9 0.3 100.0
2003 0.5 20.3 30.6 19.6 15.1 10.0 3.7 0.2 100.0
2004 0.5 20.6 30.4 19.2 14.5 10.5 4.0 0.3 100.0
2005 0.5 21.2 29.7 19.9 14.4 10.1 3.9 0.3 100.0
2006 0.6 22.2 29.6 19.7 13.9 9.9 3.9 0.2 100.0
2007 0.6 22.7 29.6 19.4 13.9 9.9 3.6 0.3 100.0
2008 0.5 22.8 30.1 20.0 12.8 9.8 3.8 0.3 100.0

(1) Obtained from the Abortion Supervisory Committee.

Note: The number of abortions refers to induced abortions registered in New Zealand.

Abortion Rates by Age of Woman(1) 1991-2008

December Year Age Group (years)
11-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45 and
over(2)		 Total Abortion
Rate(3)		 Median Age of
Women having an
Abortion (years)(4)
1991 0.4 15.9 23.8 17.9 12.8 8.4 2.4 0.2 406.7 25.1
1992 0.4 16.0 23.2 18.7 12.6 8.0 2.5 0.2 406.5 25.2
1993 0.5 16.6 24.3 18.5 12.7 8.4 2.6 0.2 417.3 25.1
1994 0.4 18.5 26.7 19.8 13.4 8.7 2.8 0.2 450.7 25.0
1995 0.4 19.7 28.9 20.9 14.0 8.9 3.0 0.3 479.2 25.0
1996 0.6 22.0 31.3 22.2 15.0 9.4 3.2 0.3 519.3 25.0
1997 0.5 21.9 32.8 22.9 15.4 9.7 3.6 0.2 534.2 25.2
1998 0.6 21.3 32.8 23.1 15.5 9.8 3.1 0.2 531.6 25.3
1999 0.5 21.4 34.6 24.1 16.0 10.2 3.9 0.3 554.1 25.5
2000 0.7 23.1 35.7 24.5 16.4 11.4 4.1 0.3 580.4 25.4
2001 0.6 23.8 36.9 25.9 16.8 10.9 3.9 0.4 594.9 25.2
2002 0.6 25.6 38.8 26.4 17.4 10.8 4.4 0.4 621.3 24.9
2003 0.7 25.9 41.1 27.9 18.0 11.6 4.3 0.3 648.2 24.7
2004 0.7 25.4 39.1 26.8 17.0 12.0 4.3 0.4 628.7 24.7
2005 0.7 24.6 36.2 26.5 16.4 11.0 4.1 0.3 600.8 24.7
2006 0.9 25.8 36.5 26.4 16.7 10.9 4.1 0.3 608.2 24.5
2007 0.9 26.6 37.2 26.2 17.5 11.0 4.0 0.4 619.0 24.5
2008 0.7 26.0 36.7 25.8 16.2 10.7 4.1 0.3 601.2 24.3

(1) Per 1,000 mean female estimated resident population in each age group.
(2) Per 1,000 mean female estimated resident population aged 45-49 years.
(3) The total abortion rate, in a particular year, is the average number of abortions 1,000 women would have during their reproductive life if they were exposed to the abortion rates characteristic of various childbearing age groups in that year.
(4) Half of those women having an abortion are older than this age, and half are younger.

Note: The number of abortions refers to induced abortions registered in New Zealand.

Induced Abortions by Number of Previous Live Births(1) 1991-2008

December Year Number of Previous Children
None One Two or More
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
1991 5,810 50.0 2,091 18.0 3,712 32.0
1992 5,616 48.4 2,152 18.6 3,827 33.0
1993 5,733 48.2 2,162 18.2 3,998 33.6
1994 6,186 48.2 2,312 18.0 4,337 33.8
1995 6,507 47.7 2,555 18.7 4,590 33.6
1996 7,130 48.2 2,777 18.8 4,898 33.1
1997 7,189 47.3 2,777 19.4 5,071 33.3
1998 6,977 46.4 3,082 20.5 4,970 33.1
1999 7,141 46.1 3,090 19.9 5,270 34.0
2000 7,547 46.9 3,133 19.5 5,423 33.7
2001 7,682 46.8 3,148 19.2 5,580 34.0
2002 8,547 49.2 3,223 18.5 5,610 32.3
2003 9,451 51.1 3,312 17.9 5,748 31.1
2004 9,216 50.6 3,366 18.5 5,629 30.9
2005 8,894 50.7 3,245 18.5 5,392 30.8
2006 9,078 50.6 3,401 19.0 5,455 30.4
2007 9,197 50.0 3,582 19.5 5,603 30.5
2008 8,721 48.6 3,596 20.0 5.623 31.3

(1) Obtained from the Abortion Supervisory Committee.

Note: The number of abortions refers to induced abortions registered in New Zealand.

Induced Abortions by Duration of Pregnancy(1) 1991-2008

December
Year		 Duration of Pregnancy (weeks)
Under 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 and
over		 Total
Number
1991 826 2,662 2,592 2,757 1,113 976 272 415 11,613
1992 715 2,305 2,733 2,868 1,202 935 296 541 11,595
1993 418 2,121 2,704 3,246 1,373 1,155 311 565 11,893
1994 350 1,969 2,741 3,527 1,792 1,420 442 594 12,835
1995 351 1,633 2,354 2,919 2,436 2,322 912 725 13,652
1996 351 1,613 2,559 3,560 2,898 2,316 754 754 14,805
1997 449 1,757 2,747 3,799 2,987 2,064 715 690 15,208
1998 574 1,923 3,189 3,436 2,323 1,913 957 714 15,029
1999 775 1,948 3,047 3,502 2,496 1,935 1,030 768 15,501
2000 854 2,047 3,135 3,564 2,627 2,062 985 829 16,103
2001 925 1,790 2,969 3,622 2,721 2,270 1,227 886 16,410
2002 1,129 1,751 2,773 3,820 3,019 2,633 1,300 955 17,380
2003 1,281 1,824 2,710 3,882 3,456 2,903 1,494 961 18,511
2004 1,263 1,835 3,505 3,993 3,007 2,613 1,164 891 18,211
2005 1,271 1,782 2,928 3,620 3,011 2,640 1,350 929 17,531
2006 1,526 1,843 3,012 3,729 2,990 2,634 1,259 941 17,934
2007 1,478 2,413 3,558 3,671 3,131 2,631 478 1,022 18,382
2008 1,687 2,875 3,743 3,535, 2,655 2,026 438 981 17,940
Percentage Distribution
1991 7.1 22.9 22.3 23.7 9.6 8.4 2.3 3.6 100.0
1992 6.2 19.9 23.6 24.7 10.4 8.1 2.6 4.7 100.0
1993 3.5 17.8 22.7 27.3 11.5 9.7 2.6 4.8 100.0
1994 2.7 15.3 21.4 27.5 14.0 11.1 3.4 4.6 100.0
1995 2.6 12.0 17.2 21.4 17.8 17.0 6.7 5.3 100.0
1996 2.4 10.9 17.3 24.0 19.6 15.6 5.1 5.1 100.0
1997 3.0 11.6 18.1 25.0 19.6 13.6 4.7 4.5 100.0
1998 3.8 12.8 21.2 22.9 15.5 12.7 6.4 4.8 100.0
1999 5.0 12.6 19.7 22.6 16.1 12.5 6.6 5.0 100.0
2000 5.3 12.7 19.5 22.1 16.3 12.8 6.1 5.1 100.0
2001 5.6 10.9 18.1 22.1 16.6 13.8 7.5 5.4 100.0
2002 6.5 10.1 16.0 22.0 17.4 15.1 7.5 5.5 100.0
2003 6.9 9.9 14.6 21.0 18.7 15.7 8.1 5.2 100.0
2004 6.9 10.1 19.2 21.6 16.5 14.3 6.4 4.9 100.0
2005 7.3 10.2 16.7 20.6 17.2 15.1 7.7 5.3 100.0
2006 8.5 10.3 16.8 20.8 16.7 14.7 7.0 5.2 100.0
2007 8.0 13.1 19.4 20.0 17.0 14.3 2.6 5.6 100.0
2008 9.4 16.0 20.9 19.7 14.8 11.3 2.4 5.5 100.0

(1) Obtained from the Abortion Supervisory Committee.

Note: The number of abortions refers to induced abortions registered in New Zealand.

Induced Abortions by Ethnicity of Woman(1)(2) 2002-2008

Ethnic Grouping Ethnic Group Number
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Total Response(s)(3) European 9,763 10,271 10,358 9,732 9,859 10,546 10,499
  Māori 3,899 4,053 3,906 3,882 4,097 4,304 4,250
  Pacific 2,009 2,161 2,060 2,050 2,134 2,289 2,230
  Asian 2,860 3,502 3,175 2,957 2,935 2,947 2,875
  Other (pre 06)* 152 193 214 220   203 206
  Other (from 06)*         51 48 25
  Not stated 0 3 7 149 211 246 64
  Total 17,380 18,511 18,211 17,531 17,934 18,382 17,940
One Ethnic Grouping(4) European only 8,597 8,821 9,030        
  Māori only 2,823 2,734 2,712        
  Pacific only 1,730 1,761 1,701        
  Asian only 2,814 3,403 3,097        
  Other only 148 181 204        
Two Ethnic Groupings(5) European/Māori 953 1,147 1,033        
  European/Pacific 155 199 206        
  Māori/Pacific 81 104 98        
  Pacific/Asian 11 37 12        
  European/Asian 22 35 41        
  Other Combinations of Two Ethnic Groups 12 22 21        
Three or More Ethnic Groupings(6)   34 64 49        
Not Specified   - 3 7        

(1) Obtained from the Abortion Supervisory Committee.
(2) Ethnic data from 2002 onwards is based on a new question that aligns with the 2001 Census question on ethnicity. Ethnic data for 2002 onwards is not strictly comparable with ethnic data for earlier years, which is based on single ethnic response.
(3) Each abortion has been included in every ethnic group specified. For this reason, some abortions are counted more than once.
(4) Includes abortions where only one ethnic group was specified or the ethnic groups specified were all in the same category.
(5) Includes abortions where the specified groups belonged to two different categories.
(6) Includes all other ethnic combinations.

*Other (pre-2006) includes Middle Eastern, Latin american and African

Other (from 2006) includes MELAA and other ethnicities not stated elsewhere.

Note: Ethnic data for 2002 has been revised due to a review, and standardisation of classification and coding practices used in the collection of ethnic data.

General Abortion Rate(1)

New Zealand and other low fertility countries. 1995-2007

Country 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Australia(2) 21.9 21.5 21.0 20.8 20.4 20.6 20.8 20.3 19.7 19.3 .. ..  
Canada(3) 15.5 .. 16.8 15.7 15.1 15.0 15.2 14.9 .. .. .. ..  
Denmark 13.7 16.5 15.5 15.1 15.1 14.6 14.3 14.1 14.7 14.4 14.4 14.3  
England & Wales(4) 14.4 15.7 15.9 16.6 16.2 16.3 16.3 16.2 16.6 16.9 17.0 17.5 17.9
Finland 9.4 9.9 9.8 10.4 10.5 10.7 10.6 10.9 10.8 11.2 11.1 10.8 10.7
France(5) 12.4 .. 15.2 15.8. 15.9 15.6 16.4 16.8 16.5 17.1 16.8 ..  
Germany .. 7.6 7.9 8.0 7.7 8.0 8.0 7.8 7.6 7.7 7.5 7.3 7.2
Japan(5) 13.4 13.3 13.4 13.3 13.4 .. 13.8 .. .. .. .. ..  
Netherlands(4) 5.8 6.5 6.6 7.1 7.4 8.0 8.4 8.7 8.6 8.7 8.6 .8.6. 8.6
NEW ZEALAND 16.1 17.3 17.6 17.4 18.0 18.7 19.1 19.9 20.8 20.2 19.3 19.6 20.1
Norway 14.9 15.6 15.2 15.3 15.5 16.0 15.2 14.8 15.1 15.3 15.2 15.5 16.1
Scotland(4) 10.1 10.9 11.1 11.5 11.2 11.1 11.3 11.1 11.6 11.8 12.0 12.5 13.0
Sweden 18.3 18.7 18.4 18.3 18.1 18.3 18.7 19.6 20.2 20.0 20.2 20.6 21.0
United States 22.5 22.4 21.9 21.5 21.4 21.3 21.1  20.5 20.2 19.7 19.4 ..  

(1) Per 1,000 estimated mean number of women aged 15-44 years.
(2) Abortions are estimated based on Medicare and hospital morbidity statistics.
(3) Residents only

(4)Residents only. In the case of the Netherlands, includes abortions to foreign women residing in the Netherlands.
(5) Abortion reporting is incomplete and the rates are at least 20 percent higher than indicated.


.. figures not available

Sources for other than New Zealand statistics:
(a) Statistics Canada, [29 March 2006 www.statca [3 April 2006]].
(b) Chan A and Sage LC (2005). "Estimating Australia's abortion rates", MJA (Medical Journal of Australia), 182:9, 447-452.
(c) Finer L B and Henshaw SK (2006). "Estimates of U.S. Abortion Incidence in 2001 and 2003", Alan Guttmacher Institute, www.agi-usa.org [31May 2006].
(d) General Registrar Office for Scotland (2007) www.gro-scotland.gov.uk [23 May 2007]
(e) National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies, France (2008) www.insee.fr/en/ppp [31 May 2006]].
(f) Government Statistical Service, UK (2006) Statistical Bulletin:Abortion Statistics, England and Wales.

(g) Statistics Bureau (2005), [9 June 2008].
(h) Statistics Denmark (2008). StatBank Denmark, www.statbank.dk [28 May 2008].
(i) Statistics Finland (2004). Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2004, Helsinki.
(j) Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, Netherlands (2006).
(k) Statistics Norway (2005). StatBank Norway, www.ssb.no [12 May 2006].
(l) Statistics Sweden (2005). Statistical Database,www.ssd.scb.se/databaser [15 May 2006].

(j) Federal Statistics Office, Germany (2007) www.destatis.de [24 May 2007]

(k) Information Services Division, NHSScotland (2008) Abortions data. www.isdscotland.org/isd/1918.html [28 May 2008]

(l) Jones R, Zolna M, Henshaw S, Finer L. (2008) Abortion in the United States: Incidence and access to services. Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health 40 (1): 6-16

(m) National Research and Deveopment Centre for Welfare and Health, Finland (2007) Induced abortions and sterilisations 2006 www.stakes.fi [28 May 2008]

(n) Norwegian Institute of Public Health (2008). Abortstatistikk 2007  www.mfr.no [30 May 2008]

(o) Official Statistics of Sweden (2008). Statistics - Health and Diseased: Induced Abortions  www.socialstyreisen.se [18 April 2008]

(p) Statisticd Finland (2008). "Statbank Finland"  www.tilastokeskus.fi.[4 June 1008]

Last Updated: 15 March 2010