Table 2.
Distribution of abortion safety categories for countries grouped by legal status and income level
| Proportion of abortions that are safe | Proportion of abortions that are less safe | Proportion of abortions that are least safe | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal grounds | |||
| Restricted (not allowed or only allowed to save a woman's life or for physical health; n=62) | 25·2% (14·5–41·0) | 43·6% (27·6–54·2) | 31·3% (21·0–41·9) |
| Allowed for mental health or socioeconomic reasons (n=62) | 41·2% (35·9–46·7) | 40·8% (34·6–47·1) | 17·1% (13·3–22·0)* |
| Abortion without restriction to reason (n=57) | 87·4% (79·2–92·0)* | 11·9% (7·3–19·8)* | 0·7% (0·5–1·8)* |
| Income level (World Bank) | |||
| Low-income countries (n=31) | 21·8% (17·4–30·7) | 24·4% (18·6–34·6) | 53·8% (40·4–58·3) |
| Lower-middle-income countries (n=51) | 42·3% (35·1–47·9)† | 37·9% (31·1–45·9) | 19·7% (13·9–25·7)† |
| Upper-middle-income countries (n=52) | 67·1% (58·7–75·7)† | 27·8 (18·0–34·7) | 5·1% (3·0–10·4)† |
| High-income countries (n=48) | 82·2% (75·8–85·7)† | 16·9 (12·5–22·2) | 0·9% (0·3–3·7)† |
Data are presented as % (90% uncertainty interval).
*
Significantly different from reference category (not allowed or only allowed to save a woman's life or physical health).
†
Significantly different from reference category (low-income countries).