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Highlights

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  • Reproductive Health Impact Study
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Abortion Legality Worldwide

Loading data

Click below for a list of countries in each category with their additional legal grounds, and consent and gestational-age requirements

1
Prohibited altogether (no explicit legal exceptions)
Andorra
Angola
Congo-Brazzaville
Congo-Kinshasa
Dominican Republic
Egypt
El Salvador
Gabon
Guinea-Bissau
Honduras
Haiti
Iraq
Laos
Madagascar
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Micronesia
Nicaragua
Palau
Philippines
Sao Tome & Principe
San Marino
Senegal
Suriname
Tonga
2
To save life of woman
Afghanistan
Antigua & Barbuda
Bangladesh
Bhutan (R,I)
Brazil (R)
Brunei Darussalam
Chile (R,F)
Côte d'Ivoire
Dominica
Guatemala
Indonesia* (R,F)
Iran (F)
Ireland
Kiribati
Lebanon
Libya
Malawi
Mali (R,I)
Mexico (R,F)
Myanmar
Nigeria
Oman
Panama† (R,F)
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
Sudan (R)
Syria*,†
Tanzania
Timor-Leste†
Tuvalu
Uganda
United Arab Emirates*,†
Venezuela
West Bank & Gaza
Yemen
3
To save life of woman/preserve physical health
Argentina (R)
Bahamas
Benin (R,I,F)
Bolivia (R,I)
Burkina Faso (R,I,F)
Burundi
Cameroon (R)
Cen. African Rep. (R,I,F)
Chad (F)
Comoros
Costa Rica
Djibouti
Ecuador
Equatorial Guinea*,†
Ethiopia (R,I,F)
Grenada
Guinea (R,I,F)
Jordan
Kenya
Kuwait*,† (F)
Lesotho (R,I,F)
Liechtenstein
Maldives*
Monaco (R,I,F)
Morocco*
Niger (F)
Pakistan
Peru
Poland† (R,I,F)
Qatar (F)
Rwanda (R,I,F)
Saudi Arabia*,†
South Korea* (R,I,F)
Togo (R,I,F)
Vanuatu
Zimbabwe (R,I,F)
4
To save life of woman/preserve physical and mental health
Algeria
Botswana (R,I,F)
Colombia (R,I,F)
Eritrea (R,I)
Gambia
Ghana (R,I,F)
Israel (R,I,F)
Liberia (R,I,F)
Jamaica
Malaysia
Mauritius† (R,I,F)
Mozambique (R,I,F)
Namibia (R,I,F)
Nauru
New Zealand (I,F)
Northern Ireland
Samoa
Seychelles (R,I,F)
Sierra Leone
St. Kitts & Nevis
St. Lucia (R,I)
Swaziland (R,I,F)
Thailand (R,F)
Trinidad & Tobago
5
To save life of woman/preserve physical and mental health/on socioeconomic grounds
Barbados† (R,I,F)
Belize (F)
Cyprus (R,F)
Fiji† (R,I,F)
Finland (R,F)
Great Britain (F)
Hong Kong (R,I,F)
Iceland (R,I,F)
India† (R,F)
Japan* (R)
St. Vincent & Grenadines (R,I,F)
Taiwan*,† (R,I,F)
Zambia (F)
6
No restriction as to reason (with gestational and other requirements)
Albania†
Armenia†
Australia
Austria‡
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Belarus
Belgium‡
Bosnia-Herzegovina†
Bulgaria
Cabo Verde
Cambodia†,‡
Canada‡‡
China‡‡
Croatia†
Cuba†
Czech Republic†
Denmark†
Estonia
France‡
Georgia†
Germany‡
Greece†
Guyana§
Hungary
Italy**
Kazakhstan
Kosovo†,*†
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia†
Lithuania†
Luxembourg‡
Macedonia†
Moldova†
Mongolia**
Montenegro†
Nepal
Netherlands††
North Korea‡‡
Norway†
Portugal†,*†
Puerto Rico††
Romania‡
Russian Fed.
Serbia†
Singapore§§
Slovakia†
Slovenia†
South Africa
Spain†,‡
Sweden*‡
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Tunisia**
Turkey*,†,*†
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
United States†,††
Uruguay†
Uzbekistan
Vietnam‡‡

Additional legal grounds denoted by:
R = pregnancies resulting from rape
I = pregnancies resulting from incest
F = when fetus has grave anomaly

Notes: Gestational-age limit data are available only for countries in legality category 6. For these countries, unless indicated otherwise (i.e., by symbols ‡ through *‡ designated below), abortion is legally allowed through the 12th week of gestation; the 12-week limit applies to 37 countries. *Spousal authorization required. †Parental authorization/notification required. ‡Gestational age limit through 14th week. §Gestational-age limit through 8th week. **Gestational-age limit through 90 days/three months. ††No gestational-age limit for previability abortion. ‡‡Law does not indicate gestational-age limit. §§ Gestational-age limit through 24th week. *†Gestational-age limit through 10th week. *‡Gestational-age limit through 18th week. Sources: references 56, 57 and 89; Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of China, Genetic Health Act of 1985, amended as of 2009, Taipei, Taiwan; and Republic of Mozambique, Lei nº 35/2014, Lei da revisão do Código Penal, Artigo 168, Aborto não punível, Maputo, Mozambique, 2014.

Source:
Appendix Table 1, Singh S et al., Abortion Worldwide 2017: Uneven Progress and Unequal Access, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2018, https://www.guttmacher.org/report/abortion-worldwide-2017

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