Number of abortions
The number of abortions performed in New Zealand has dropped for the first time since 1998. A total of 18,210 induced abortions were performed in New Zealand in the December 2004 year, 300 (1.6 percent) fewer than in 2003 (18,510). This drop follows increases of 6.5 percent in 2003 and 5.9 percent in 2002.
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. The general abortion rate was 15.3 per 1,000 in 1994.
On the basis of the 2004 age-specific abortion rates, 1,000 New Zealand women could expect to have 637 induced abortions during their reproductive life (this is known as the total abortion rate). The total abortion rate for the year 2004 represents an increase of 41 percent on the rate of 451 per 1,000 recorded a decade earlier in 1994.
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 had an abortion rate of 39 abortions per 1,000 women in 2004, 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 27 per 1,000 in 2004. Teenagers (aged 15–19 years) had a slightly lower abortion rate (26 abortions per 1,000).
Between 2003 and 2004, abortion rates by age decreased for all age groups under 35 years and rose for age groups 35 years and over. Between 1994 and 2004, age-specific abortion rates increased for all age groups. Women aged 20–24 years had the highest increase, up 48 percent from 27 per 1,000 in 1994 to 39 per 1,000 in 2004.
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 were first abortions, compared with 66 percent during 2000–2003 and 73 percent in 1994. Eleven percent of women having an abortion in 2004 had had two or more previous abortions, up from 6 percent in 1994.
Duration of pregnancy
Over the decade 1994–2004 more abortions were performed during the tenth week of gestation than at any other length of gestation. In 2004, about one in five abortions took place in the tenth week of gestation.
Ethnicity
Ethnic data for 2002 onwards is based on a new question that aligns with the 2001 Census 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 2004, there were 10,360 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 3,910 abortions to women who identified with the Māori ethnic group, 3,180 were to women who identified with the Asian ethnic group, and 2,060 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 2003, the general abortion rate (number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years) for New Zealand was 21.0 per 1,000. Germany (7.6), the Netherlands (8.6), Finland (10.7), Scotland (11.5), Denmark (14.7), Norway (15.1), and England and Wales (16.6) had lower rates. In Australia (19.7), Sweden (20.1) and the United States (20.9 in 2002), the abortion rate was similar to the New Zealand level.
More detailed abortion figures
Additional tables on abortions for 2004 are available from Statistics New Zealand. The figures contained in the appended tables, along with some more detailed tables, will be available in the Abortion Supervisory Committee's annual report to Parliament, and Statistics New Zealand's annual publication Demographic Trends 2005,due out in January 2006.
For technical information contact:
Gillian Smeith or Anne Howard
Christchurch 03 964 8700
Email: demography@stats.govt.nz