The number of abortions is increasing – almost ten percent more than in the previous year

The number of abortions in Germany in 2022 increased by 9.9 percent compared to the previous year, with around 104,000 cases reported. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, the number of abortions was also above the level of the years 2014 to 2020, when the number of reported cases was always between around 99,000 and 101,000. The last time the number of abortions was higher than in 2022 was in 2012 with 106,800 cases. In 2021, 94,600 cases were the lowest since statistics began.

The interventions were mainly carried out on an outpatient basis. According to the information, 96 percent of the abortions reported in 2022 were carried out according to the so-called counseling regulation. Indications for medical reasons and due to sexual offenses were the reason for the termination in four percent of the cases. Most abortions (51 percent) were performed using the suction method (vacuum aspiration), with 35 percent using Mifegyne.

Seven out of ten women (around 70 percent) who had an abortion in 2022 were between 18 and 34 years old. Around 19 percent were between the ages of 35 and 39. Around eight percent of the women were 40 years and older, around three percent were younger than 18 years. Around 41 percent of the women had not yet given birth to a child before the abortion.