TABLE 4. Percentage, rate,* and ratio† of reported abortions, by known age group and year — selected reporting areas,§ United States, 2010–2019
| Age group (yrs) | Year | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2010 to 2014 | 2015 to 2019 | 2018 to 2019 | 2010 to 2019 | |
| Reported abortions by known age (%) | ||||||||||||||
| <15 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | −40.0 | −33.3 | 0.0 | −60.0 |
| 15–19 | 14.6 | 13.5 | 12.2 | 11.4 | 10.4 | 9.8 | 9.4 | 9.1 | 8.8 | 8.7 | −28.8 | −11.2 | −1.1 | −40.4 |
| 20–24 | 32.9 | 32.9 | 32.8 | 32.7 | 32.1 | 31.1 | 30.0 | 29.3 | 28.5 | 27.8 | −2.4 | −10.6 | −2.5 | −15.5 |
| 25–29 | 24.5 | 24.9 | 25.4 | 25.9 | 26.8 | 27.6 | 28.5 | 29.0 | 29.4 | 29.3 | 9.4 | 6.2 | −0.3 | 19.6 |
| 30–34 | 15.3 | 15.8 | 16.4 | 16.8 | 17.2 | 17.7 | 18.0 | 18.3 | 18.8 | 19.4 | 12.4 | 9.6 | 3.2 | 26.8 |
| 35–39 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 9.1 | 9.2 | 9.7 | 10.0 | 10.3 | 10.5 | 10.7 | 10.8 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 0.9 | 21.3 |
| ≥40 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 5.9 | 2.8 | 5.7 | 8.8 |
| Abortion rate | ||||||||||||||
| <15 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | −50.0 | −20.0 | 0.0 | −60.0 |
| 15–19 | 11.7 | 10.5 | 9.2 | 8.2 | 7.3 | 6.7 | 6.2 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.8 | −37.6 | −13.4 | 0.0 | −50.4 |
| 20–24 | 26.8 | 25.0 | 23.3 | 21.9 | 20.9 | 19.9 | 19.0 | 18.4 | 18.2 | 18.1 | −22.0 | −9.0 | −0.5 | −32.5 |
| 25–29 | 20.2 | 19.5 | 18.9 | 18.2 | 18.1 | 17.9 | 17.7 | 17.3 | 17.6 | 17.8 | −10.4 | −0.6 | 1.1 | −11.9 |
| 30–34 | 13.2 | 12.7 | 12.4 | 11.8 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.6 | 11.5 | 11.9 | 12.3 | −11.4 | 5.1 | 3.4 | −6.8 |
| 35–39 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 7.0 | −6.6 | 0.0 | 2.9 | −7.9 |
| ≥40 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.6 | −10.7 | 4.0 | 4.0 | −7.1 |
| Abortion ratio | ||||||||||||||
| <15 | 848 | 839 | 804 | 791 | 745 | 699 | 729 | 777 | 853 | 851 | −12.1 | 21.7 | −0.2 | 0.4 |
| 15–19 | 332 | 326 | 304 | 300 | 291 | 289 | 295 | 301 | 318 | 332 | −12.3 | 14.9 | 4.4 | 0.0 |
| 20–24 | 291 | 284 | 272 | 262 | 256 | 250 | 249 | 249 | 256 | 260 | −12.0 | 4.0 | 1.6 | −10.7 |
| 25–29 | 184 | 178 | 174 | 169 | 167 | 167 | 169 | 171 | 178 | 183 | −9.2 | 9.6 | 2.8 | −0.5 |
| 30–34 | 138 | 132 | 128 | 122 | 116 | 115 | 113 | 114 | 119 | 124 | −15.9 | 7.8 | 4.2 | −10.1 |
| 35–39 | 171 | 165 | 158 | 148 | 145 | 140 | 136 | 134 | 135 | 137 | −15.2 | −2.1 | 1.5 | −19.9 |
| ≥40 | 274 | 275 | 269 | 245 | 239 | 228 | 218 | 211 | 206 | 213 | −12.8 | −6.6 | 3.4 | −22.3 |
| Total (no.)¶,** | 672,271 | 640,719 | 611,540 | 579,406 | 565,691 | 553,596 | 542,922 | 528,308 | 533,557 | 539,634 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Abbreviation: NA = not applicable.
* Number of abortions obtained by women in a given age group per 1,000 women in that same age group. Adolescents aged 13–14 years were used as the denominator for the group of adolescents aged <15 years, and women aged 40–44 years were used as the denominator for the group of women aged ≥40 years. Abortions for women of unknown age were distributed according to the distribution of abortions among women of known age.
† Number of abortions obtained by women in a given age group per 1,000 live births to women in that same age group. Abortions for women of unknown age were distributed according to the distribution of abortions among women of known age.
§ Data from 44 reporting areas; excludes eight reporting areas (California, District of Columbia, Florida, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Wyoming) that did not report, did not report by age, or did not meet reporting standards for ≥1 year.
¶ By year, the total number of abortions represents 99.4%–99.7% of all abortions reported to CDC among the areas that met reporting standards for age during 2010–2019; reporting standards for age were applied to abortions for residents of Illinois only.
** The total number is different than previously reported because the totals by known age are presented and data for out-of-state residents were subsequently added for Wisconsin.
* Data from 44 reporting areas; excludes eight reporting areas (California, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York State, and Wisconsin) that did not report, did not report by number of previous induced abortions, or did not meet reporting standards.
† Percentages for the individual component categories might not add to 100% because of rounding.
§ Percentage is calculated as the number of abortions reported by known number of previous induced abortions divided by the sum of abortions reported by known and unknown number of previous induced abortions. Values ≥99.95% are rounded to 100.0%.
¶ Reporting to the central health agency is not required. Data are requested from hospitals and licensed ambulatory care facilities only.
** Cells with a value in the range of 1–4 or cells that would allow for calculation of these small values have been suppressed.
†† Percentage based on a total of 539,573 abortions reported among the areas that met reporting standards for the number of previous induced abortions.