Number of abortions
A total of 17,940 induced abortions were performed in New Zealand in the year ended December 2008, down from 18,380 in 2007, but up from 15,030 a decade earlier in 1998. The highest number of induced abortions recorded in New Zealand was 18,510 in 2003.
Abortion rates
It is important to note that the legal environment and the provision of abortion services affect comparisons over time in abortion rates and in the number of abortions.
The general abortion rate (abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years) decreased from 20.1 in 2007 to 19.7 in 2008. The general abortion rate was 17.4 per 1,000 in 1998.
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 2008 was 601 abortions per 1,000 women, which is 13 percent higher than the rate of 532 per 1,000 recorded a decade earlier in 1998. However, the 2008 rate is 7 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 2008). Teenagers (15–19 years) and women aged 25–29 years both had abortion rates of 26 per 1,000 in 2008. The median age (half are younger, and half older, than this age) of women having an abortion was 24.3 years in 2008 and had been stable at around 25 years over the previous 20 years.
Proportion of known pregnancies ending in an abortion
The abortion ratio averaged 220 abortions per 1,000 known pregnancies in both 2007 and 2008, down from 250 per 1,000 in 2003. Known pregnancies include live births, stillbirths and induced abortions combined.
Previous abortions
In 2008, 63 percent of abortions were a woman's first abortion, compared with 69 percent in 1998. Twelve percent of women having an abortion in 2008 had had two or more previous abortions, compared with 8 percent in 1998.
Duration of pregnancy
In 2008, 46 percent of abortions were performed in the ninth week of gestation or earlier, compared with 31 percent in 2003. About 20 percent were performed in the tenth week of gestation, a similar proportion to five years ago.
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 2008, there were 10,500 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 4,250 abortions to women who identified with the Māori ethnic group, 2,880 women identified with the Asian ethnic group, 2,230 women identified with the Pacific ethnic group and 210 women identified with the MELAA (Middle Eastern, Latin American and African) grouping. Of the 30 women in the 'Other' ethnic group, almost all identified with the New Zealander ethnic group.
International comparisons
Statistical coverage and laws relating to induced abortion affect international comparisons of abortion statistics. Consequently, differences between the abortion rate for New Zealand and other countries should be interpreted with care.
International data for 2008 is not available for many countries, so comparisons have generally been made using 2007 data. In 2007, the general abortion rate (abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years) for New Zealand was 20.1 per 1,000. The following countries had lower rates: Germany (7.2), the Netherlands (8.6), Finland (10.7), Scotland (13.0), Denmark (14.3 in 2006), Norway (16.1), France (16.8 in 2006), and England and Wales (17.9). In Australia (19.3 in 2004), the United States (19.4 in 2005), and Sweden (21.0), the abortion rate was similar to New Zealand's.
For technical information contact:
Anne Howard
Christchurch 03 964 8700
Email: demography@stats.govt.nz