Table 1.
Number of Pregnancies, Percentage That Were Unintended, Pregnancy Rates, and Percentage Change in the Rate of Unintended Pregnancies among All U.S. Females, 2008 and 2011.*
| Characteristic | No. of Pregnancies, 2011 (in Thousands) |
Percentage of Pregnancies That Were Unintended |
Pregnancy Rate† |
% Change in Rate of Unintended Pregnancy 2008 to 2011 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Unintended | Total | Unintended | ||||||
| 2008 | 2011 | 2008 | 2011 | 2008 | 2011 | ||||
| All females | 6138 | 2779 | 51 | 45 | 106 | 98 | 54 | 45 | −18 |
| Age group‡ | |||||||||
| 15–19 yr | 574 | 430 | 82 | 75 | 70 | 55 | 57 | 41 | −28 |
| 15–17 yr | 173 | 124 | 91 | 72 | 39 | 28 | 36 | 20 | −44 |
| 18–19 yr | 402 | 305 | 77 | 76 | 115 | 93 | 88 | 71 | −20 |
| 20–24 yr | 1494 | 878 | 64 | 59 | 163 | 138 | 104 | 81 | −22 |
| 25–29 yr | 1650 | 691 | 45 | 42 | 168 | 157 | 76 | 66 | −13 |
| 30–34 yr | 1440 | 444 | 35 | 31 | 141 | 141 | 49 | 43 | −12 |
| ≥35 yr | 967 | 328 | 39 | 34 | 48 | 47 | 19 | 16 | −15 |
| Relationship status | |||||||||
| Currently married | 3084 | 731 | 31 | 24 | 119 | 121 | 36 | 29 | −21 |
| Never married, not cohabiting | 1181 | 954 | 82 | 81 | 54 | 45 | 43 | 36 | −16 |
| Formerly married, not cohabiting | 378 | 262 | 68 | 69 | 67 | 77 | 46 | 54 | 17 |
| Cohabiting | 1494 | 831 | 63 | 56 | 320 | 254 | 198 | 141 | −29 |
| Income as a percentage of the federal poverty level |
|||||||||
| <100% | 2131 | 1286 | 65 | 60 | 209 | 184 | 137 | 112 | −18 |
| 100–199% | 1373 | 709 | 55 | 52 | 152 | 111 | 85 | 58 | −32 |
| ≥200% | 2635 | 784 | 38 | 30 | 67 | 68 | 26 | 20 | −20 |
| Educational attainment§ | |||||||||
| Not a high school graduate | 813 | 363 | 54 | 45 | 187 | 162 | 101 | 73 | −28 |
| High school graduate or GED equivalent | 1358 | 738 | 52 | 54 | 116 | 109 | 60 | 59 | −2 |
| Some college or associate’s degree | 1785 | 813 | 53 | 46 | 105 | 101 | 55 | 46 | −16 |
| College graduate | 1595 | 428 | 31 | 27 | 94 | 95 | 29 | 25 | −14 |
| Race and ethnic group¶ | |||||||||
| White non-Hispanic | 3190 | 1201 | 42 | 38 | 89 | 86 | 38 | 33 | −13 |
| Black non-Hispanic | 1101 | 699 | 69 | 64 | 132 | 122 | 92 | 79 | −15 |
| Hispanic | 1387 | 691 | 56 | 50 | 140 | 116 | 79 | 58 | −26 |
| Religious affiliation | |||||||||
| Protestant | 2803 | 1274 | 50 | 45 | 103 | 93 | 52 | 43 | −19 |
| Mainline Protestant | 1329 | 703 | 53 | 53 | 106 | 95 | 57 | 51 | −11 |
| Evangelical Protestant | 1473 | 571 | 48 | 39 | 101 | 91 | 48 | 35 | −27 |
| Catholic | 1427 | 661 | 49 | 46 | 109 | 102 | 54 | 48 | −11 |
| Other | 598 | 205 | 44 | 34 | 94 | 109 | 42 | 38 | −10 |
| None | 1311 | 639 | 59 | 49 | 113 | 101 | 68 | 50 | −26 |
Numbers may not sum to group totals because of rounding. GED denotes General Educational Development.
Rates are reported as the number of pregnancies per 1000 women and girls 15 to 44 years of age.
Girls younger than 15 years of age were excluded because of insufficient data. For the category 35 years of age or older, the numerator is the number of pregnancies among women 35 years of age or older and the population denominator is the number of women 35 to 44 years of age.
Calculations by educational attainment were limited to women 20 years of age or older.
Race and ethnic group were self-reported. Data from women and girls who reported their race or ethnic group as “other” are not included here.