Nationwide abortion statistics for New Zealand are published each year by the Ministry of Health. The following information has been gleaned from their annual publications and combined with birth data from Stats NZ to provide an overview of the frequency and demography of abortion in New Zealand.
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ANNUAL ABORTION STATISTICS
- In 2024, a reported 17,785 abortions took place in New Zealand. That's up from 16,277 in 2023, 14,164 in 2022, and 14,164 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 13,246 13,155 16,630 17,531 16,103 13,652 11,173 7,130 5,945 Annual Abortion Totals by Year 2020 2015 2010 2005 2000 13,246 13,155 16,630 17,531 16,103 1995 1990 1985 1980 13,652 11,173 7,130 5,945 - Approximately 23% of all pregnancies (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) ended in abortion in 2024. That's up from 22.2% in 2023, 19.4% in 2022, and 18.4% 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 18.7% 17.7% 20.7% 23.3% 22.1% 19.1% 15.7% 12.1% 10.5% Percentage of Pregnancies Aborted by Year (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) 2020 2015 2010 2005 2000 18.7% 17.7% 20.7% 23.3% 22.1% 1995 1990 1985 1980 19.1% 15.7% 12.1% 10.5% - Total annual abortions in New Zealand have increased 199% since 1980, the first year that nationwide abortion totals were reported. The total number of annual abortions more than doubled between 1980 and 1993. There were 18,511 abortions reported in 2003, which is the highest total on record.
WHO HAS ABORTIONS?
- Roughly half of New Zealand's 2024 abortions (48.4%) were performed on women in their 20s. Teenagers accounted for 10.4%.
- Percentage of 2024 abortions by age of mother:
<15 years 15–19 years 20–24 years 25–29 years 30–34 years 35–39 years ≥40 years 0.3% 10.1% 24.6% 23.8% 21.7% 14.1% 5.4% <15 years 15–19 years 20–24 years 25–29 years 0.3% 10.1% 24.6% 23.8% 30–34 years 35–39 years ≥40 years 21.7% 14.1% 5.4%
- Ethnic minorities in New Zealand are more likely to have an abortion than women of European descent.
- Māori mothers accounted for 27% of all NZ abortions in 2024, Pacific mothers accounted for 9%, Asian mothers for 22%, and mothers of European (or other) descent accounted for 42%.
- New Zealand’s population in 2023 was 68% European, 18% Māori, 17% Asian, 9% Pacific peoples, and 2% other.
WHEN DO ABORTIONS OCCUR?
- In 2024, 82% of New Zealand abortions were performed before 10 weeks' gestation.*
- Approximately 7.2% of all 2024 abortions occurred between 13-20 weeks' gestation; 0.9% occurred after 20 weeks' gestation.*
- Percentage of 2024 abortions by weeks of gestation:*
≤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 56.1% 15.5% 10.3% 4.2% 3.1% 2.7% 2.4% 2.3% 1.4% 1.1% 0.9% ≤7 wks 8 wks 9 wks 10 wks 11 wks 12 wks 56.1% 15.5% 10.3% 4.2% 3.1% 2.7% 13 wks 14-15 wks 16-17 wks 18-20 wks ≥21 wks 2.4% 2.3% 1.4% 1.1% 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?
- Medical abortions made up 69% of all 2024 abortions in New Zealand
- Telehealth* abortions accounted for almost two-thirds of medical abortions in 2024.
*Telehealth abortions do not require an in-clinic visit or examination. The abortion pills are mailed directly to the mother.
This page was last updated on February 27, 2026. To cite this page in a research paper, visit: "Citing Abort73 as a Source."
