Termination of pregnancy statistics
Year ending December 2025

About this release

This annual release by Public Health Scotland provides an update on termination of pregnancy statistics for the period up to December 2025. Data are sourced from the Termination of Pregnancy Submissions Scotland (ToPSS) system. Numbers and rates of termination are provided on a variety of characteristics such as the number of terminations a woman previously experienced, the estimated gestation at time of termination, and the method of termination.

The outcomes are described for all terminations carried out in Scotland, including any that may be carried out by non-NHS treatment providers. They are reported at national level and by NHS board of residence, NHS board of treatment and local authority area, as well as for age, ethnicity and deprivation sub-populations where numbers are sufficient.

Main points

• There has been a 55% increase in demand for termination services in Scotland since 2016. Following an acceleration in 2022, the rate of increase in demand for termination services has slowed and is the same this year as last, with 17.6 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years receiving a termination in 2025.

This line chart shows the termination rate in Scotland for the years 2016 to 2025 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. The years run along the x-axis and the rate of termination is on the y-axis. The rate of terminations in Scotland gradually increased from 11.9 in 2016 to 13.8 in 2021. Following an acceleration in 2022 to 16.2, the rate of increase in demand for termination services has slowed and is the same this year as last, with 17.6 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years receiving a termination in 2025.

Close

Termination rates in Scotland, 2016 to 2025

• However, this increase in service activity varied across NHS boards. Terminations to women residing in NHS Lanarkshire increased the most, with 86% more terminations than 10 years ago.
• Four NHS boards recorded termination rates higher than the Scottish average (17.6 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44). The highest rate was in NHS Lanarkshire (21.1) followed by NHS Tayside (20.3) then NHS Lothian and NHS Forth Valley (both 17.8). At local authority level the highest termination rate was in Dundee City (22.8).
• In 2025 there were further increases in termination rates in the 35 to 39 and the 40 and over age groups. Both groups recorded their highest rates to date of 13.3 per 1,000 women aged 35 to 39 and 5.0 per 1,000 women aged 40 to 44. In this latest ten-year period, the highest termination rates were in the 20 to 24 group (27.7 per 1,000 women aged 20 to 24).
• At Scotland level, termination rates in the most deprived areas, as measured using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, were 23.7 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, remaining around double those of least deprived areas (12.0).
• To calculate the termination rates by ethnic group, we used the 2022 census to provide the base population numbers (denominators) for each of those ethnic groups. In 2025 the rate was highest in the African, Scottish African or British African ethnic group (40.6 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44) followed by the Caribbean or Black ethnic group (29.1).
• The number of previous terminations experienced by women was self-reported. In over 40% of cases women indicated they had previously undergone a termination. This may indicate an unmet need for reliable contraception services following a termination. The previous termination rate increased with increased deprivation. There was also variation by ethnicity with African, Scottish African and British African women reporting the highest rate of previous terminations.
• Gestation at time of termination can be affected by service accessibility. With each increase in deprivation level the likelihood of accessing termination services by 9 weeks' gestation decreased. There was also variation in early access to termination services by rurality. However, this variation was not solely based on a simple urban-rural split where women living in large urban areas accessed termination services early; women living in accessible rural areas were also more likely to access termination services early.
• There was minimal variation across NHS boards of residence in average gestation at time of termination for both medical and surgical terminations.

Background

An abortion can be either induced (therapeutic) or spontaneous (miscarriage). Here we report only on induced abortions, and we refer to these as terminations of pregnancy to avoid confusion with spontaneous abortions.

Surveillance data for all terminations of pregnancy carried out in Scotland are entered onto the ToPSS system. Notifications of abortion are submitted separately by service providers to the Chief Medical Officer (Scotland). Rates are calculated using population figures for women aged 15 to 44 years, as these most appropriately reflect the reproductive age groups. This publication also reports on termination rates for under sixteens. The denominator in this instance is 13- to 15-year-olds.

Following a user consultation in 2025, we have now changed from a long-form publication to a summary publication of main points and findings. All previously available tables, except Table 6.2 on congenital conditions (available in Table 1a of the Congenital Conditions in Scotland report) will continue to be published along with the summary report. In addition, we have created a technical report to provide background and supporting information on data quality, interpretation and metadata.

More information about termination data can be found in the technical report.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be 25 May 2027.