The United States ranks #30 on this list of 101 countries, with 22.6% of all pregnancies in 2005 ending in abortion.
A quick look at this list shows that Marxist or formerly Marxist countries have the highest rates of abortion. As an example, Russia ranks #2, with 44.7% of all pregnancies ending in abortion; Cuba ranks #5, with 37% of all pregnancies being aborted; and China ranks #10, with 31.1% of all pregnancies being aborted.
If any reader can shed light on why Greenland — a “socialist democracy” — is ranked #1, with a shocking 51.1% of all pregnancies being aborted, I’d appreciate your leaving a comment.
H/t Spiritdaily.com.
~Eowyn
Percentage of Pregnancies Aborted by Country
(countries listed by percentage)
compiled by Wm. Robert Johnston
last updated 25 April 2010
Percent of known pregnancies ending in legal abortions, most recent data (in order of decreasing percentage)
| country | year | % | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Greenland | 2007 | 51.1 | |
| 2. Russia | 2008 | 44.7 | |
| 3. Guadeloupe | 2007 | 39.8 | |
| 4. Nagorno-Karabakh | 2007 | 38.1 | |
| 5. Cuba | 2007 | 37.0 | |
| 6. Romania | 2008 | 36.6 | |
| 7. Estonia | 2008 | 34.4 | |
| 8. Bulgaria | 2008 | 32.0 | |
| 9. Martinique | 2007 | 31.6 | |
| 10. China (PRC) | 2007 | 31.1 | |
| 11. Hungary | 2008 | 30.8 | |
| 12. Latvia | 2008 | 30.4 | |
| 13. Moldova | 2008 | 29.0 | |
| 14. Cocos Islands | 1978 | 28.6 | |
| 15. Belarus | 2008 | 28.2 | |
| 16. Georgia | 2008 | 28.1 | |
| 17. Belize | 1996 | 28.0 | |
| 18. Kazakhstan | 2008 | 26.8 | |
| 19. Sweden | 2008 | 25.8 | |
| 20. Korea, South (ROK) | 1999 | 25.6 | |
| 21. New Caledonia | 1998 | 25.2 | |
| 22. French Guiana | 2007 | 25.0 | |
| 23. Slovakia | 2008 | 24.3 | |
| 24. Reunion | 2007 | 23.5 | |
| 25. Singapore | 2008 | 23.4 | |
| 26. Armenia | 2008 | 23.2 | |
| 27. Serbia | 2008 | 23.2 | |
| 28. Seychelles | 2006 | 23.2 | |
| 29. Vietnam | 2007 | 23.2 | |
| 30. United States | 2005 | 22.6 | |
| 31. Ukraine | 2008 | 21.9 | |
| 32. New Zealand | 2008 | 21.6 | |
| 33. France | 2007 | 21.4 | |
| 34. Norway | 2008 | 20.9 | |
| 35. United Kingdom | 2008 | 20.9 | |
| 36. Canada | 2006 | 20.7 | |
| 37. Lithuania | 2008 | 20.5 | |
| 38. Macedonia | 2008 | 20.5 | |
| 39. Australia | 2007 | 20.2 | |
| 40. Hong Kong | 2005 | 19.9 | |
| 41. Jersey | 2004 | 19.9 | * |
| 42. Japan | 2007 | 19.1 | |
| 43. Denmark | 2006 | 18.8 | |
| 44. Albania | 2008 | 18.7 | |
| 45. Slovenia | 2008 | 18.5 | |
| 46. Dominican Republic | 2005 | 18.2 | |
| 47. Spain | 2008 | 18.2 | |
| 48. Montenegro | 2007 | 17.7 | |
| 49. Italy | 2008 | 17.4 | |
| 50. Turkey | 2008 | 17.0 | |
| 51. Croatia | 2008 | 16.9 | |
| 52. Iceland | 2008 | 16.5 | |
| 53. Mayotte | 2006 | 16.0 | |
| 54. Czech Republic | 2008 | 15.8 | |
| 55. Guernsey | 2000 | 15.0 | * |
| 56. Finland | 2008 | 14.9 | |
| 57. Mongolia | 2008 | 14.5 | |
| 58. Germany | 2008 | 14.4 | |
| 59. Azerbaijan | 2008 | 14.2 | |
| 60. Kyrgyzstan | 2008 | 14.0 | |
| 61. Belgium | 2007 | 13.5 | * |
| 62. Netherlands | 2007 | 13.5 | |
| 63. Greece | 2005 | 13.3 | |
| 64. Guyana | 2007 | 13.3 | |
| 65. Andorra | 1995 | 13.0 | |
| 66. Taiwan (ROC) | 1999 | 13.0 | |
| 67. Isle of Man | 2007 | 12.8 | * |
| 68. Switzerland | 2008 | 12.4 | |
| 69. Portugal | 2008 | 11.9 | |
| 70. Bahrain | 2002 | 11.4 | |
| 71. Anguilla | 2005 | 11.2 | |
| 72. Israel | 2008 | 11.1 | |
| 73. Barbados | 1995 | 10.3 | |
| 74. Puerto Rico | 2006 | 10.2 | |
| 75. Tunisia | 2008 | 10.1 | |
| 76. Costa Rica | 2005 | 10.0 | |
| 77. Bermuda | 1984 | 9.9 | |
| 78. Turkmenistan | 2008 | 9.9 | |
| 79. Turks and Caicos Islands | 2005 | 9.1 | |
| 80. Tajikistan | 2007 | 8.7 | |
| 81. South Africa | 2007 | 7.7 | |
| 82. Saint Helena | 1990 | 7.1 | |
| 83. Ireland | 2008 | 5.8 | * |
| 84. Uzbekistan | 2008 | 5.8 | |
| 85. Faeroe Islands | 2008 | 5.3 | |
| 86. Kosovo | 2006 | 4.6 | |
| 87. Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2001 | 3.2 | |
| 88. Austria | 2000 | 3.0 | |
| 89. Suriname | 1994 | 3.0 | |
| 90. India | 2004 | 2.6 | |
| 91. Gibraltar | 2008 | 1.7 | * |
| 92. Qatar | 2005 | 1.3 | |
| 93. Malta | 2008 | 0.9 | * |
| 94. Venezuela | 1968 | 0.8 | |
| 95. United Arab Emirates | 2006 | 0.10 | * |
| 96. Mexico | 2007 | 0.09 | * |
| 97. Poland | 2007 | 0.09 | * |
| 98. Botswana | 1984 | 0.04 | |
| 99. Chile | 1991 | 0.02 | |
| 100. Luxembourg | 1997 | 0.02 | * |
| 101. Panama | 2000 | 0.02 |
Notes: Data is for residents only. (*) indicates values which include abortions abroad. See respective country pages for sources.
I’m sorry, I cannot help with ‘factual’ reasons… only speculation. Perhaps there are limited rescources? The land of G has vast areas of barreness and the climate is harsh. So typical farming is very limited.??? Then one would argue the cold/harsh climate in Northern Canada and the lack of farming…IDK, I can only grasp at straws… as I am biased in this area. For me there IS No human reasoning to substantiate such numbers.
What I DO know, is mathmatically, these stats w/regard to abortion are heart wrenching and I am staggered by the amount of the loss of humanity as a whole… :’(
Excelent question, Eowyn!!! Ive found this article that tries to shed a light on the subject: http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/abortions_nearly_out-number_births_in_greenland/
Thank you, Sieg! From the article you gave us:
“An earlier study on abortion, conducted in Greenland’s Disko Bay region, looked at the reasons women chose abortion. “We believe that the main reason is a reluctance to use birth control — but why is a big question,” Peter Bjerregaard, a Danish health researcher and head of the circumpolar health association, said. The 1996 study found half the women who underwent abortions had forgotten to use any contraception. Another 25 per cent were simply against using birth control. The study found a high percentage of women seeking abortions were single, unilingual Greenlandic speakers and less likely to have a job. They also reported a history of drinking, past pelvic inflammations or veneral diseases, and previous hospitalizations. Contraception is free in Greenland…”
Just so sad…
If it’s the long nights in winter, then Iceland (latitude: 65º00´ N, like Greenland (lattitude: 72º 00′ N), should also have a high rate of abortion.
But Iceland ranks #52, where “only” 16.5% of all pregnancies are aborted. In contrast, Greenland ranks #1, with 51.1% of all pregnancies being aborted.
Abortion is illegal in ireland but we have a maria Stopes referral Clinic and me and friends roster our time and go to pray the rosary outside it. We are going to an Anti- Abortion Rally on Friday morning against students (?) for abortion in Maynooth which was once the catholic churches biggest seminary. Abortion may be illegal but you can’t stop someone going to murder their unborn child. Every abortion is a sacrifice to satan, just like the Holocaust of the Thrid Reich.
Tragic.
Reducing the number of abortions is about supply and demand. Why do so many women feel that abortion is the ‘sensible choice’?
In the US it is more expensive to give birth than have an abortion, unlike countries with socialized health care. With the odd exception of Greenland and Sweden the US has a higher abortion rate than Western European countries with socialized healthcare systems. I exclude the former Soviet bloc because abortion was and still is used as instead of contraception.
Since abortion to you is merely a monetary, instead of moral, consideration, you must be a liberal. This must be the only time when a liberal actually proffers an argument in terms of the capitalist market signals of supply and demand — but only because you’re using it to promote a socialist cause of government health care. In the end, your worldview is nothing other than amoral socialism. Tragic.
You’re in Birmingham, UK. As if you actually care about abortions in America. Pathetic.
The systems of government is identical in Greenland and Denmark, and the abortion rate is vastly different – in other words, it has nothing to do with this alleged “socialist democracy” you mention. It’s not even something which is relevant to the overall issue of pro/con abortion either. To understand why it’s so high probably requires substantial historical context and knowledge about the Greenlandic culture.
Many of the countries on the list don’t have free abortions, and therefore the statistics are not directly comparable.
The various laws in Europe, for example:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6235557.stm
Just because it’s legal in some country doesn’t mean that people HAVE to get abortions. In most NW European countries the abortion rates have fallen steadily since it was legalized and a large part of the abortions are those done for medical reasons (which is a debatable subject, of course – it may include detected anomalies in otherwise viable fetuses).
In some Western European countries the non-western Immigrant population has a VASTLY higher abortion rate than the so called “liberal” native population (about twice). That immigrant segment is obviously conservative Muslims for the most part (maybe except Britain, but there isn’t free abortion in Britain!).
I don’t say that getting an abortion is the right thing to do, but the statistics does not show anything in particular, other than the fact that legal abortion rates are lower in countries where abortion is not legal – the few abortions in those countries are done abroad.
The situation in Eastern Europe, I know nothing about that. However, they are not “Marxist” countries TODAY. If you look at those countries, then you can see that there are many “ex-Marxist” countries with a lower legal abortion rate than the US abortion rate, some of them significantly lower (for whatever reason).
Those include:
Ukraine
Lithuania
Macedonia
Albania
Slovenia
Montenegro
Croatia
Czech Republic
Kosovo
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Poland
Mongolia
Azerbaijan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
I don’t care about the abortion issue in the USA, I only reply because you asked about Greenland, and spoke out about other countries. I’m probably as ignorant about the USA as you are about Europe and Greenland, and I don’t care if you have legal abortion rights or not. It’s for you to decide, certainly not I. The reverse is also the case.
Thank you for your info, but I do take exception to your hostility and contempt that are entirely unwarranted by my post and the comments. I’m not an idiot: I do know that the East European countries are FORMERLY Marxist. If you re-read that sentence, you’ll see YOU are the one who misunderstood: “A quick look at this list shows that Marxist or formerly Marxist countries have the highest rates of abortion. As an example, Russia ranks #2, with 44.7% of all pregnancies ending in abortion; Cuba ranks #5, with 37% of all pregnancies being aborted; and China ranks #10, with 31.1% of all pregnancies being aborted.”
The last time I looked, Russia is a formerly Marxist state and both Cuba and China are still (supposedly) Marxist.
And how nice of you that you “don’t care about the abortion issue in the USA.” Who asked you anyway? Well, I do care about the abortion issue not just in the US but across the world because the aborted are human beings — like you and me. What if your mother had aborted you? Ever thought about that?
Now go away, you rude obnoxious troll from Denmark. I sure hope not all Danes are as arrogant and contemptuous as you.