The Guttmacher Institute conducts global studies on topics such as the incidence of abortion, barriers to contraceptive use and the reproductive health needs of adolescents. The Institute's ongoing Adding It Up project provides estimates (regional, subregional and country-specific) of the needs among women in low- and middle-income countries for modern contraception, maternal and newborn care, and abortion-related services. This work also estimates the costs and impacts of meeting these needs, providing policymakers around the globe with evidence that investment in improving and increasing the provision of sexual and reproductive health services saves lives, improves women’s health and well-being, and has broad societal benefits.
In addition, the Institute’s Unintended Pregnancy and Abortion Worldwide study has produced model-based estimates of the incidence of unintended pregnancy and abortion over the period 1990–2019 for 150 countries and territories around the world. Such estimates provide an opportunity to assess trends in unintended pregnancy and abortion over time for individual countries and territories, as well as regionally and globally.