Teenage Pregnancy Statistics
Even in this day of birth control and sex education, teenage pregnancy statistics are still alarming to many. Despite its reputation as the most powerful country on the planet, the United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy among all western developed countries.
Here are some of the latest teenage pregnancy statistics, according to U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics provided by the Guttmacher Institute.
Teenage Pregnancy Statistics - The Numbers
- 750,000 teenagers, ages 15-19, get pregnant every year in the United States.
- That means that 75 out of every 1000 teen girls in the U.S. will get pregnant this year.
- A teenage girl who is sexually active but doesn't use birth control has a 90 percent chance of getting pregnant within one year.
- The most teen pregnancies occur in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Nevada and Texas, with California having the highest rate of teenage pregnancy.
- The fewest teen pregnancies happen in Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, with North Dakota reporting the lowest number. (Note that these last two statistics are influenced by the number of teenagers living in these states. States with more teens would logically have more teenage pregnancies, and vice versa.)
Teenage Pregnancy Statistics - The Outcome
- Almost one-third of teen pregnancies end in abortion.
- 57 percent of teen pregnancies end in birth, and 14 percent in miscarriage.
- Teenage births account for 11 percent of all births in the U.S.
- Babies born to teen moms are more likely to have low birth weight and receive inadequate medical care.
- The highest number of teenage births happen in Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas.
- The lowest number of teen births happen in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Vermont.
Teenage Pregnancy Statistics - Abortion Facts
- 29 percent of all teenage pregnancies end with an abortion.
- Abortion rates among teens are highest in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Nevada and Washington, DC.
- Teen abortion rates are lowest in Kentucky, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah.
Teenage Pregnancy Statistics - The Good News
- Teen pregnancy has gone down 36 percent since its peak in 1990.
- The abortion rate for teens was 50 percent lower in 2002 than at its peak in 1988.
- The number of black teen pregnancies has dropped by about 40 percent since 1990.
- The number of Hispanic teen pregnancies went down nearly 20 percent since 1990.
- The number of white teen pregnancies has gone down about 34 percent since 1990.
The good news is largely due to contraceptive use and abstinence. These numbers will hopefully continue to go down, but that can only happen with a solid investment in prevention. The United States spends billions on caring for teenage mothers and their children, but only millions on preventing teenage pregnancy. Do the math.