Historical abortion statistics, Sweden

Abortion statistics and other data--Johnston`s Archive

Historical abortion statistics, Sweden

compiled by Wm. Robert Johnston
last updated 6 June 2026

Definition of table data (see notes after table for additional information):

Live births.
Abortions, reported includes legal reported induced abortions.
Abortions (AWR) are combined reported and estimated abortion occurrences from the Abortion Worldwide Report and working papers.
Abortions, residents, in country only includes reported abortions obtained within the country by residents only.
Abortions, residents, obtained abroad includes reported abortions by country residents obtained in other countries.
Abortions, residents, total includes reported abortions by residents, obtained both within the country and abroad.
Fetal deaths generally includes fetal deaths or stillbirths of at least 20 weeks` gestation.
Miscarriages generally includes spontaneous fetal losses/ abortions, fetal deaths, or stillbirths, regardless of gestation period.
Abortion ratio is abortions per 1000 live births.
Abortion % is abortions as percentage of pregnancies (excluding fetal deaths/miscarriages).
Abortion rate, residents is abortions by residency per 1000 women ages 15-44.
Abortion rate, occurrences (AWR) is abortion occurrences from Abortion Worldwide Report figures per 1000 women ages 15-39.

Sweden regional level data also available here.

year	live births	abortions, reported	abortions (AWR)	abortions, residents, in country only	abortions, residents, obtained abroad	abortions, residents, total	abortions, occurrences by non-residents	miscarriages	fetal deaths	abortion ratio		abortion %		abortion rate, residents	abortion rate, occurrences (AWR)
year	live births	abortions, reported	abortions (AWR)	abortions, residents, in country only	abortions, residents, obtained abroad	abortions, residents, total	abortions, occurrences by non-residents	miscarriages	fetal deaths	residents, in/out of country	all in country	residents, in/out of country	all in country	abortion rate, residents	abortion rate, occurrences (AWR)
1900	138,139
1901	139,370
1902	137,364
1903	133,896
1904	134,952
1905	135,409
1906	136,620
1907	136,793
1908	138,874
1909	139,505
1910	135,625
1911	132,977
1912	132,868
1913	130,200
1914	129,458
1915	122,997
1916	121,679
1917	120,855
1918	117,955
1919	115,193
1920	138,753
1921	127,723
1922	116,946
1923	113,435
1924	109,055
1925	106,292
1926	102,007
1927	97,994
1928	97,868
1929	92,861
1930	94,220
1931	91,074
1932	89,779
1933	85,020
1934	85,092
1935	85,906
1936	88,938
1937	90,373
1938	93,946		(220)
1939	97,380	439	439	(439)		439				4.5	4.5	0.45	0.45
1940	95,778	506	506	(506)		506				5.3	5.3	0.53	0.53
1941	99,727	496	496	(496)		496				5.0	5.0	0.49	0.49
1942	113,961	568	568	(568)		568				5.0	5.0	0.50	0.50
1943	125,392	703	703	(703)		703				5.6	5.6	0.56	0.56
1944	134,991	1,088	1,088	(1,088)		1,088				8.1	8.1	0.80	0.80
1945	135,373	1,623	1,623	(1,623)		1,623				12.0	12.0	1.18	1.18
1946	132,597	2,378	2,378	(2,378)		2,378				17.9	17.9	1.76	1.76
1947	128,779	3,534	3,534	(3,534)		3,534				27.4	27.4	2.67	2.67
1948	126,683	4,585	4,585	(4,585)		4,585				36.2	36.2	3.49	3.49
1949	121,272	5,503	5,503	(5,503)		5,503				45.4	45.4	4.34	4.34
1950	115,414	5,889	5,889	(5,889)		5,889				51.0	51.0	4.85	4.85
1951	110,168	6,328	6,328	(6,328)		6,328				57.4	57.4	5.43	5.43
1952	110,192	5,322	5,322	(5,322)		5,322				48.3	48.3	4.61	4.61
1953	110,144	4,915	4,915	(4,915)		4,915				44.6	44.6	4.27	4.27
1954	105,096	5,089	5,089	(5,089)		5,089				48.4	48.4	4.62	4.62
1955	107,305	4,562	4,562	(4,562)		4,562			1,819	42.5	42.5	4.08	4.08	3.1
1956	107,960	3,851	3,851	(3,851)		3,851				35.7	35.7	3.44	3.44
1957	107,168	3,386	3,386	(3,386)		3,386				31.6	31.6	3.06	3.06
1958	105,502	2,823	2,823	(2,823)		2,823				26.8	26.8	2.61	2.61
1959	104,743	3,071	3,071	(3,071)		3,071				29.3	29.3	2.85	2.85
1960	102,219	2,792	2,792	(2,792)		2,792			1,418	27.3	27.3	2.66	2.66	1.9
1961	104,501	2,909	2,909	(2,909)		2,909			1,340	27.8	27.8	2.71	2.71
1962	107,284	3,205	3,205	(3,205)		3,205			1,348	29.9	29.9	2.90	2.90
1963	112,903	3,528	3,528	(3,528)		3,528			1,367	31.2	31.2	3.03	3.03
1964	122,664	4,671	4,671	(4,671)		4,671			1,391	38.1	38.1	3.67	3.67
1965	121,037	6,600	6,600	(6,600)		6,600			1,268	54.5	54.5	5.17	5.17	4.0
1966	123,354	7,254	7,254	(7,254)		7,254			1,237	58.8	58.8	5.55	5.55
1967	121,360	9,703	9,703	(9,703)		9,703			1,157	80.0	80.0	7.40	7.40
1968	113,087	10,940	10,940	(10,940)		10,940			1,026	96.7	96.7	8.82	8.82
1969	107,314	13,735	13,735	(13,735)		13,735			871	128.0	128.0	11.35	11.35	8.8
1970	110,150	16,100	16,100	(16,100)		16,100			929	146.2	146.2	12.75	12.75	10.2
1971	114,484	19,250	19,250	(19,250)		19,250			905	168.1	168.1	14.39	14.39	12.2
1972	112,273	24,170	24,170	(24,170)		24,170			764	215.3	215.3	17.71	17.71	15.2
1973	109,663	25,990	25,990	(25,990)		25,990			788	237.0	237.0	19.16	19.16	16.3
1974	109,874	30,636	30,636	(30,636)		30,636			732	278.8	278.8	21.80	21.80	19.2
1975	103,632	35,526	32,526	(35,526)		35,526			603	342.8	342.8	25.53	25.53	20.3
1976	98,345	32,351	32,351	(32,351)		32,351			545	329.0	329.0	24.75	24.75	20.0
1977	96,057	31,462	31,462	(31,462)		31,462			492	327.5	327.5	24.67	24.67	19.3
1978	93,248	31,918	31,918	(31,918)		31,918			455	342.3	342.3	25.50	25.50	19.4
1979	96,175	34,709	34,709	(34,709)		34,709			442	360.9	360.9	26.52	26.52	20.9
1980	97,064	34,887	34,887	(34,887)		34,887			402	359.4	359.4	26.44	26.44	20.7
1981	94,065	33,294	33,294	(33,294)		33,294			333	353.9	353.9	26.14	26.14	19.6
1982	92,706	32,604	32,604	(32,604)		32,604			319	351.7	351.7	26.02	26.02	19.0
1983	91,686	31,014	31,014	(31,014)		31,014			297	338.3	338.3	25.28	25.28	17.9
1984	93,508	30,755	30,755	(30,755)		30,755			317	328.9	328.9	24.75	24.75	17.7
1985	98,463	30,838	30,838	(30,838)		30,838			352	313.2	313.2	23.85	23.85	17.7
1986	101,740	33,124	33,124	(33,124)		33,124			390	325.6	325.6	24.56	24.56	18.9
1987	104,699	34,707	34,707	(34,707)		34,707			384	331.5	331.5	24.90	24.90	19.8
1988	112,080	37,585	37,585	(37,585)		37,585			392	335.3	335.3	25.11	25.11	21.4
1989	116,023	37,920	37,920	(37,920)		37,920			415	326.8	326.8	24.63	24.63	21.5
1990	123,938	37,489	37,489	(37,489)		37,489			435	302.5	302.5	23.22	23.22	21.3	26.37
1991	123,737	35,788	35,788	(35,788)		35,788			464	289.2	289.2	22.43	22.43	20.4	25.01
1992	122,848	34,849	34,849	(34,849)		34,849			396	283.7	283.7	22.10	22.10	20.0	24.42
1993	117,846	34,169	34,169	(34,169)		34,169			400	289.9	289.9	22.48	22.48	19.8	23.97
1994	112,162	32,293	32,293	(32,293)		32,293			348	287.9	287.9	22.36	22.36	18.7	22.60
1995	103,326	31,441	31,441	(31,441)		31,441			350	304.3	304.3	23.33	23.33	18.3	22.01
1996	95,158	32,117	32,117	(32,117)		32,117			330	337.5	337.5	25.23	25.23	19.0	22.59
1997	89,171	31,433	31,433	31,168		31,168			314	349.5	352.5	25.90	26.06	18.4	22.23
1998	88,384	31,008	31,008	30,771		30,771			306	348.2	350.8	25.82	25.97	18.3	22.01
1999	88,173	30,712	30,712	30,462		30,462			339	345.5	348.3	25.68	25.83	18.1	21.84
2000	90,441	30,980	30,980	30,680		30,680			345	339.2	342.5	25.33	25.51	18.3	22.01
2001	91,466	31,772	31,772	31,425		31,425			345	343.6	347.4	25.57	25.78	18.7	22.51
2002	95,815	33,365	33,365	32,878		32,878		81	352	343.1	348.2	25.55	25.83	19.6	23.56
2003	99,157	34,473	34,473	33,893		33,893		87	359	341.8	347.7	25.47	25.80	20.2	24.28
2004	100,928	34,454	34,454	33,727		33,727		104	333	334.2	341.4	25.05	25.45	20.0	24.20
2005	101,346	34,978	34,978	34,384		34,384			301	339.3	345.1	25.33	25.66	20.2	24.48
2006	105,913	36,045	36,045	35,457		35,457			319	334.8	340.3	25.08	25.39	20.6	25.10
2007	107,421	37,205	37,205	36,606		36,606			326	340.8	346.3	25.42	25.72	21.0	25.68
2008	109,301	38,053	38,053	37,371	5	37,376	682		390	342.0	348.1	25.48	25.82	21.3	25.98
2009	111,801	37,524	37,524	36,808		36,808			451	329.2	335.6	24.77	25.13	20.8	25.34
2010	115,641	37,693	37,698	37,693		37,693			426	325.9	325.9	24.58	24.58	20.9	25.28
2011	111,770	37,750	37,750	37,750	3	37,753			429	337.8	337.7	25.25	25.25	20.9	25.26
2012	113,177	37,366	37,366	37,366		37,366			453	330.2	330.2	24.82	24.82	20.7	24.99
2013	113,593		(37,000)		4	4			441						(24.7)
2014	114,907	36,629	36,629	36,629		36,629			456	318.8	318.8	24.17	24.17	20.2	24.44
2015	114,870	38,071	38,071	38,071	3	38,074			429	331.5	331.4	24.89	24.89	20.9	25.27
2016	117,425	38,177	38,177	38,177	4	38,181			414	325.2	325.1	24.54	24.54	20.8	25.10
2017	115,416	36,616	36,616	36,616		36,616			399	317.3	317.3	24.08	24.08	19.8	23.78
2018	115,832	35,782	35,782	35,782	3	35,785			442	308.9	308.9	23.60	23.60	19.2	22.98
2019	114,523	36,151	36,151	36,151	4	36,155			367	315.7	315.7	23.99	23.99	19.2	23.01
2020	113,077	34,596	34,596	34,596		34,596			353	306.0	306.0	23.43	23.43	18.3	21.91
2021	114,263	33,697	33,697	33,697		33,697			367	294.9	294.9	22.77	22.77	17.8	21.25
2022	104,734	35,456	35,456	35,456		35,456			324	338.5	338.5	25.29	25.29	18.5	22.24
2023	100,051	35,550	35,550	35,550		35,550			284	355.3	355.3	26.22	26.22		22.18
2024	98,451	35,312	35,312	35,312		35,312			296	358.7	358.7	26.40	26.40		21.92
2025	97,491		(35,100)
year	live births	abortions, reported	abortions (AWR)	abortions, residents, in country only	abortions, residents, obtained abroad	abortions, residents, total	abortions, occurrences by non-residents	miscarriages	fetal deaths	abortion ratio		abortion %		abortion rate, residents	abortion rate, occurrences (AWR)
year	live births	abortions, reported	abortions (AWR)	abortions, residents, in country only	abortions, residents, obtained abroad	abortions, residents, total	abortions, occurrences by non-residents	miscarriages	fetal deaths	residents, in/out of country	all in country	residents, in/out of country	all in country	abortion rate, residents	abortion rate, occurrences (AWR)

Notes:

Parenthetical figures are estimates, some of which are derived from reported data.
Abortion ratios, percentages, and rates may be based on a mix of data from different sources and thus may not represent a consistent time series.

Sources:

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Socialstyrelsen, Sept. 2015, "Statistics on induced abortions 2014," Socialstyrelsen, on line [http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/Lists/Artikelkatalog/Attachments/19915/2015-9-4.pdf].
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 12 Aug. 2015, "3. Live births, deaths, and infant deaths, latest available year (2000-2014)," United Nations Statistics Division, on line [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/vitstats/serATab3.pdf].
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2015, "Table 9. Live births and crude birth rates, by urban/rural residence: 2010-2014," in United Nations Demographic Yearbook 2014, United Nations (New York, NY), on line at United Nations Statistics Division [http://unstats.un.org/UNSD/Demographic/products/dyb/dyb2014/Table09.pdf].
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2015, "Table 12. Late foetal deaths and late foetal death ratios, by urban/rural residence: 2010-2014," in United Nations Demographic Yearbook 2014, United Nations (New York, NY), on line at United Nations Statistics Division [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2014/Table12.pdf].
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2025, "Table 13. Legally induced abortions: 2015-2024," in United Nations Demographic Yearbook 2024, United Nations (New York, NY), on line at United Nations Statistics Division [https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/documents/DYB2024/table13.pdf].

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