7 July 2006

Abortion statistics released

The Department of Health has issued its annual bulletin, with statistics for England and Wales 2005.

The key facts are as follows.

In 2005, for women resident in England and Wales: 

  • the total number of abortions was 186,400, compared with 185,700 in 2004, a rise of 0.4%
  • the age-standardised abortion rate was 17.8 per 1,000 resident women aged 15-44, the same as in 2004
  • the abortion rate was highest, at 32.0 per 1,000, for women in the 20-24 age group
  • the under-16 abortion rate was 3.7 and the under-18 rate was 17.8 per 1,000 women, both the same as in 2004
  • 84% of abortions were funded by the NHS; of these, just over half (52%) took place in the independent sector under NHS contract
  • 89% of abortions were carried out at under 13 weeks gestation; 67% were at under 10 weeks
  • medical abortions accounted for 24% of the total compared with 19% in 2004
  • 1,900 abortions (1%) were under ground E, risk that the child would be born handicapped

    Non-residents: 

  • in 2005 there were 7,900 abortions for non-residents carried out in hospitals and clinics in England and Wales (8,800 in 2004)

    Abortion statistics, England and Wales: 2005 was published by the Department of Health on 4 July 2006. View the Statistical Bulletin in full as a .pdf document.