Abortion statistics for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are available from the Department of Health and Social Care (England and Wales), National Services Scotland, and the Department of Health (Northern Ireland). Abortion was legalized in Northern Ireland by British parliament in 2019. The following information has been gleaned from all three sources and combined with available birth data1 to provide an overview of the frequency and demography of abortion in Great Britain.
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ANNUAL ABORTION STATISTICS
- In 2023, a reported 299,007 abortions took place in Great Britain, up from 270,141 in 2022.
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In 2023, approximately 31% of all pregnancies in Great Britain (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) ended in abortion.
Annual Abortion Statistics (England & Wales)
- In 2023, a reported 277,970 abortions took place in England and Wales. That's up from 251,377 in 2022 and 214,869 in 2021. Additional abortion totals by selected year are listed below:
Annual Abortion Totals by Year 2020 2015 2010 2005 2000 1995 1990 1985 1980 1975 1970 210,860 191,014 196,109 194,353 185,375 163,638 186,912 171,873 160,903 139,702 86,565 Annual Abortion Totals by Year 2020 2015 2010 2005 2000 1995 210,860 191,014 196,109 194,353 185,375 163,638 Annual Abortion Totals by Year 1990 1985 1980 1975 1970 186,912 171,873 160,903 139,702 86,565 - Approximately 32% of all pregnancies (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) ended in abortion in 2023. That’s up from 29% in 2022 and 26% in 2021. Additional abortion percentages by selected year are listed below:
Percentage of Pregnancies Aborted by Year (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) 2020 2015 2010 2005 2000 1995 1990 1985 1980 1975 1970 25.6% 21.5% 21.3% 23.1% 23.5% 20.1% 20.9% 20.8% 19.7% 18.8% 9.9% Percentage of Pregnancies Aborted by Year (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) 2020 2015 2010 2005 2000 1995 25.6% 21.5% 21.3% 23.1% 23.5% 20.1% Percentage of Pregnancies Aborted by Year (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) 1990 1985 1980 1975 1970 20.9% 20.8% 19.7% 18.8% 9.9% - Total annual abortions in England and Wales have increased 407% since 1969, the first full year that abortion was legal. The total number of annual abortions more than doubled between 1969 and 1971. The 277,970 abortions reported in 2023 is the highest total on record.
- More than 9.7 million abortions occurred in England and Wales between 1968 and 2023.
Annual Abortion Statistics (Scotland)
- In 2024, a reported 18,710 abortions took place in Scotland. That’s up from 18,242 in 2023 and 16,596 in 2022. The abortion total for 2021 was 13,783. Additional abortion totals by selected year are listed below:
Annual Abortion Totals by Year 2020 2015 2010 2005 2000 1995 1990 1985 1980 1975 1970 13,896 12,135 12,949 12,665 11,997 11,143 10,219 9,189 7,905 7,327 5,254 Annual Abortion Totals by Year 2020 2015 2010 2005 2000 1995 13,896 12,082 12,948 12,665 11,997 11,143 Annual Abortion Totals by Year 1990 1985 1980 1975 1970 10,219 9,189 7,905 7,327 5,254 - Approximately 29% of all pregnancies (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) ended in abortion in 2024. That’s up from 28% in 2023 and 26% in 2022. In 2021, 22% of pregnancies ended in abortion. Additional abortion percentages by selected year are listed below:
Percentage of Pregnancies Aborted by Year (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) 2020 2015 2010 2005 2000 1995 1990 1985 1980 1975 1970 22.9% 18.0% 18.0% 18.9% 18.4% 15.7% 13.4% 12.1% 10.2% 9.7% 5.7% Percentage of Pregnancies Aborted by Year (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) 2020 2015 2010 2005 2000 1995 22.9% 18.0% 18.0% 18.9% 18.4% 15.7% Percentage of Pregnancies Aborted by Year (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) 1990 1985 1980 1975 1970 13.4% 12.1% 10.2% 9.7% 5.7% - Total annual abortions in Scotland have increased 426% since 1969, the first full year that abortion was legal. The total number of annual abortions more than doubled between 1969 and 1972. The 18,710 abortions reported in 2024 is the highest total on record.
- More than 610,000 abortions occurred in Scotland between 1968 and 2024.
Annual Abortion Statistics (Northern Ireland)2
- In 2024,** a reported 2,899 abortions took place in Northern Ireland. That’s up from 2,795 in 2023. Additional annual abortion totals are listed below:
Annual Abortion Totals by Year** 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2,168 1,755 1,574 22 8 - Approximately 13% of all pregnancies (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) ended in abortion in 2024. That’s up from 12% in 2023. Additional abortion percentages by selected year are listed below:
Percentage of Pregnancies Aborted by Year** (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 9.4% 7.4% 7.0% 0.09% 0.04% **Northern Ireland reports by fiscal year, which is April 1 through March 31 of the year following.
WHO HAS ABORTIONS?
- Among the residents of England and Wales, unmarried women accounted for 86% of all 2023 abortions.
- Women in their 20s accounted for the majority of abortions in 2023; women aged 20-24 had the highest abortion rate.
- Adolescents under 16 years obtained less than half a percent of all 2023 abortions in England and Wales; women aged 16–17 years accounted for 2.4%.
- In 2024, 11% of all Scotland abortions were performed on teenagers, which is down from a high of 32% in 1984. Women aged 30 and above accounted for 37% of 2023 abortions.
- In Northern Ireland, adolescents younger than 18 accounted for 2.5% of all 2024 abortions, women aged 18-34 accounted for 76%, and women 35 or older accounted for 19.5%.
- Percentage of 2023 Reported Abortions by Age of Mother (England & Wales):
<16 years 16–17 years 18–19 years 20–24 years 25–29 years 30–34 years 35+ years 0.5% 2.4% 7.0% 25.3% 25.2% 20.9% 18.6% <16 years 16–17 years 18–19 years 20–24 years 0.5% 2.4% 7.0% 25.3% 25–29 years 30–34 years 35+ years 25.2% 20.9% 18.6% - In England and Wales, women with no prior abortions accounted for 61% of all abortions in 2023. Among women who obtained abortions in 2023, 46% had never given birth.
- Approximately 0.2% of the abortions that took place in England and Wales in 2023 were performed on non-residents. Of these 770 abortions, 46% were performed on residents of other European countries, 44% on residents of Crown Dependencies, 31% on residents of the Irish Republic, 23% on residents of Scotland, and 19% on residents of Northern Ireland.
WHY DO ABORTIONS OCCUR?
Strictly speaking, elective abortion is not legal in Great Britain. Before an abortion can take place, two doctors must certify that the pregnancy is a threat to the life or health of the mother—or her children. As such, a medical reason is required for every abortion that takes place in the United Kingdom; doctors have seven reasons to choose from. In practice, the third reason (C), which states that continued pregnancy threatens the physical or mental health of the mother, has become the de facto response for elective abortion. In 2023, it was the statutory reason for 98% of all abortions among residents of England, Wales, and Scotland.
- Less than 0.04% of 2023 abortions were performed to save the life of the mother.
- Less than 0.4% of 2023 abortions were performed for the benefit of already-born children.
- Less than 2% of 2023 abortions were performed because of fetal anomaly.
WHEN DO ABORTIONS OCCUR? (England & Wales)
- Approximately 94% of 2023 resident abortions happened during the first trimester, prior to the 13th week of gestation.
- In 2023, approximately 5% of all abortions occurred between 13-19 weeks' gestation; 1% occurred ≥20 weeks' gestation.
- Percentage of 2023 Reported Abortions by Weeks of Gestation (England & Wales)*:
≤6 wks 7 wks 8 wks 9 wks 10 wks 11 wks 12 wks 13 wks 14-15 wks 16-17 wks 18-20 wks ≥21 wks 54% 17% 11% 6% 1.3% 1.4% 1.5% 1.6% 1.8% 1.2% 0.9% 0.9% ≤6 wks 7 wks 8 wks 9 wks 10 wks 11 wks 12 wks 54% 17% 11% 6% 1.3% 1.4% 1.5% 13 wks 14-15 wks 16-17 wks 18-20 wks ≥21 wks 1.6% 1.8% 1.2% 0.9% 0.9% *Gestational weeks are measured from the first day of the woman's last menstruation and not from the day of conception. Though it does not provide an accurate fetal age (which is roughly 2 weeks less than the gestational age), it is the simplest way for an OB/GYN to age a pregnancy since the day of conception is often not known. Hence, if an abortion occurs at 8 weeks gestation, it is actually aborting a 6 week embryo. The images on our Prenatal Development and Abortion Pictures pages are more precisely captioned with fetal ages in accordance with standard teaching texts on prenatal development.
HOW DOES ABORTION TAKE PLACE?
- In 2023, 8% of resident abortions in England and Wales were performed by vacuum aspiration; 4% were performed by dilatation and evacuation.
- Medical abortions made up 87% of all 2023 resident abortions in England and Wales.
- In Scotland, medical abortions accounted for 97% of all abortions in 2023.
- In Northern Ireland, medical abortions accounted for 89% of all abortions in 2024.
- Approximately 17% of all 2023 resident abortions in England and Wales occurred in an NHS Hospital. The rest occurred in independent abortion clinics.
ABORTION AND PUBLIC FUNDS
- In 2023, 98% of all resident abortions in England and Wales were paid for with public funds.
ABORTIONS BY REGION (England & Wales)
- The table below shows regional abortion data for England and Wales:
Locality Total Abortions (2023) Abortion Rate (2023)* Yorkshire and the Humber 24,185 21.9 North West 40,375 26.7 West Midlands 31,285 26.5 East Midlands 20,365 21.3 East 26,365 22.3 London 51,810 23.2 South East 38,560 22.1 South West 20,610 19.6 Wales 13,220 22.4 *The abortion rate is the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44.
This page was last updated on February 24, 2026. To cite this page in a research paper, visit: "Citing Abort73 as a Source."
- In 2023, there were 591,072 births recorded in England and Wales, 45,935 births recorded in Scotland, and 19,962 births recorded in Northern Ireland.
- Annual health data for Northern Ireland spans portions of two calendar years. Their fiscal year begins on April 1. Annual abortion totals include the last nine months of the year listed and the first three months of the year following.
Footnotes
