Abortion rates declined significantly across most developed regions between 1990 and 2014. However, during the same period, they remained largely unchanged in developing regions. The findings come from a new study by the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization. It found that between 1990 and 2014, the overall number of abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15–44 years old) in developed countries dropped from 46 to 27, while in developing countries, it changed little, from 39 to 37, a nonsignificant difference. The study’s findings appear in an article, “Abortion incidence between 1990 and 2014: global, regional, and subregional levels and trends,” by Gilda Sedgh et al., published in The Lancet.

When countries were grouped according to their abortion laws, the researchers found no significant difference in abortion rates for 2010–2014 between countries where abortion is legal and where it is restricted. In countries where the procedure was prohibited altogether or permitted only to save a woman’s life, the abortion rate was 37 per 1,000, and in countries where it was available on request, the abortion rate was 34 per 1,000.

Across regions, Eastern Europe experienced the largest decline in abortion rate, from 88 in 1990-1994 to 42 in 2010-2014. Despite this decline there is a persistent gap in rates between Eastern and Western Europe (42 vs 18) likely reflecting lower use of effective contraception in Eastern Europe.

Source and more information at Guttmacher’s webiste