Second lowest abortion figure in 14 years

Preliminary figures show that 13,979 pregnancies were terminated in Norway in 1997. This is a decline of nearly 300 compared to 1996, and the second lowest figure registered since 1983.

Since abortion on demand became legal in 1979, the number of terminated pregnancies has varied between 13,531 in 1982 and 16,208 in 1989. With the exception of 1995, we would have to go back to 1983 to find a lower abortion figure than in 1997.

The abortion rate, i.e. the number of pregnancies terminated per 1,000 women, varies widely depending on the age of the women. Every year since 1982 women aged 20 to 24 have had the highest abortion rate, with 24.2 pregnancy terminations per 1,000 women in 1997. The abortion rate for this age group rose consecutively from 1981 to 1989. After 1989 the trend reversed, and current rate is now on a level with 1984. The abortion rate for women aged 15 to 19 was 18.7 per 1,000 women in 1997. After declining consecutively over the past 10 years, this was a slight increase compared to the year before, when the figure was 18.

New Statistics
Induced abortions, 1997. Preliminary figures.
The statistics are published annually in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. For more information, contact: jens-kristian.borgan@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 45 37.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 36, 1998