Pregnancy, childbirth and abortion

FHI · Norwegian Abortion Registry · 2025

Abortions in Norway in 2025

The Norwegian Abortion Registry recorded 13,211 abortions performed in Norway in 2025, compared with 12,840 in 2024. These figures describe abortions performed, not the number of unintended pregnancies.

The new abortion law entered into force on 1 June 2025. Changes in abortions requiring approval by a review board must therefore be considered in light of the changed legislation, rather than interpreted directly as changes in the need for abortion.

Source: Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), Abortion statistics for Norway, updated 12 May 2026.

FHI · Norwegian Abortion Registry · Counties

Where in Norway were abortion rates highest and lowest?

FHI published these three counties with the highest and these three with the lowest abortion rates in 2025. The rate is the number of abortions performed per 1,000 women aged 15–49. This is a selection of counties, not a complete ranking of all counties.

Shared scale: 0–20 abortions per 1,000 women. The figures are not counts of abortions or a measure of the quality of healthcare services.

Source: FHI, ‘Slight increase in abortion figures’, published 12 May 2026.

Mode of delivery: caesarean section, 2015–2024

Proportion of births by caesarean section, divided into planned and emergency procedures. The source rounds the figures to one decimal place.

Blue-grey: planned caesarean sections. Dark blue: emergency caesarean sections. Shared scale: 0–20 percent.

Source: FHI, Annual report of the Medical Birth Registry of Norway 2024, Table 12. Percentage of all births. Individual proportions may differ from the total due to rounding.

FHI · Medical Birth Registry of Norway

At what stage of pregnancy do births occur?

Distribution of births by gestational age in Norway, 2015–2024. The figures show proportions of all births, not proportions of pregnant women.

Each annual row uses a scale from 0 to 100%. The three categories shown do not necessarily add up to exactly 100%, partly because figures are rounded and births without recorded gestational age are not included in the three categories. Births before week 28 are already included in the before-week-37 group and must not be added again.

Source: FHI, Annual report of the Medical Birth Registry of Norway 2024, Table 4. The report was published on 11 November 2025.

Norwegian Abortion Registry · National figures

Abortions per 1,000 women

Number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–49 in Norway. The rate makes it easier to compare trends when population size changes. The figures include all abortions performed, whether decided by the pregnant person or approved by a review board.

From 2021 to 2025, the abortion rate increased from 9.0 to 10.6 per 1,000 women. The rate was slightly lower in 2024 than in 2023. This describes the recorded trend, not why the number of abortions changed.

Sources: FHI Norwegian Abortion Registry, local statistical database table A2 (abr-283), 2021–2025, checked against FHI's published overview on 12 May 2026. The corresponding total extract in table A3 (abr-285) contains the same values and is not displayed twice. View the original FHI source.

Norwegian Abortion Registry · FHI

Abortions by age

Number of abortions performed per 1,000 women in each age group, 2023–2025. These are rates, allowing comparisons between age groups of different sizes.

All bars use the same scale from 0 to 20 abortions per 1,000 women. The zero baseline is preserved.

Source: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Abortion statistics for Norway, table of abortions per 1,000 women, 2023–2025, last changed on 12 May 2026. The figures show registered abortions and do not explain the reasons for the differences.

FHI · official statistics

Explore the figures yourself

Choose a statistical series and then age, measure or another available category. The chart shows the recorded values for the selected group. Categories may have different definitions and the figures must not be added together without a shared measurement basis.

Statistics Norway · Births · Data series 06990

Live births by mother's age and county

In 2025, this table recorded 55,374 live-born babies, broken down by maternal age 15–49 and county. This is a count of babies, not a count of mothers or a birth rate.

This age-restricted extract must not be confused with Statistics Norway's published total across all age groups: 55,401 live births in 2025. The extract covers only mothers aged 15–49 and therefore does not necessarily include all births in the published total.

By mother's age

The figures come from Statistics Norway's records and show the number of live-born babies by maternal age. More babies being born to mothers in one age group does not necessarily mean that women of that age are more likely to have a child. To examine that, birth counts must be considered in relation to the number of women in each age group. Totals in this extract are checked across age and county.

Source: Statistics Norway. Year: 2025. Last updated by Statistics Norway: 12/03/2026.

The figures apply to the stated period, age groups and counties. The number of babies born is not the same as the number of women giving birth.

FHI · Medical Birth Registry of Norway

Birth complications and postpartum health

National annual values for birth tears and postpartum bleeding from FHI are shown in the charts further down. Recorded blood loss of at least 500 mL is a different category from more severe bleeding requiring blood transfusion.

The Norwegian Directorate of Health also reports figures for severe birth tears among first-time mothers: In 2023, 3.1 percent of first-time mothers who gave birth vaginally experienced a third- or fourth-degree tear. This concerns a distinct group and must not be confused with the proportion among all vaginal births in the annual series. We are also mapping severe bleeding, induction of labour, breastfeeding, follow-up care and mental health problems during the postpartum period. New charts will only be displayed after measures, years and populations have been verified.

FHI · Medical Birth Registry of Norway · Norway

Stillbirths and deaths during the first month of life

FHI reports that the proportion of babies who were stillborn or died during their first month of life was 24.7 per 1,000 births in 1967 and 3.7 per 1,000 births in 2025. These are two documented points from a longer statistical series, not a chart showing every intervening year.

This measure concerns fetal and infant mortality, not the health of the person giving birth. It must not be used to measure the quality of an individual maternity unit. FHI also publishes details of labour onset, induction, epidural use and complications in separate tables; these distributions require specific verification before we display charts.

FHI · Medical Birth Registry of Norway · 2023–2025

Births and recorded events

Here we show FHI's national figures for all maternity units. Choose an indicator to see trends from 2023 to 2025. The figures refer to registered births, not the number of live-born babies.

Number of births recorded with an epidural per 1,000 births.

All figures come from official FHI tables 446 and 448. The unit is per 1,000 registered births, not percent. Figures from different maternity units have not been compared or ranked because the characteristics of those giving birth may vary. FHI is responsible for the statistics; Tidlignok presents the figures.

Source updated 16.4.2026. Original tables are available from FHI Table 446 og FHI Table 448.

FHI · Medical Birth Registry of Norway · 2015–2024

Epidural analgesia during vaginal birth

How common has epidural analgesia been during vaginal births in Norway? Explore a continuous ten-year series and compare first-time mothers with those who have given birth before.

The figures cover people who gave birth vaginally. Caesarean sections are not included. First-time mothers and those who have given birth before differ in birth experiences and characteristics; differences between the groups alone do not indicate the quality or choice of pain relief. Epidural and spinal anaesthesia are distinct measures and must not be combined without checking their definitions.

Source: FHI, Annual report of the Medical Birth Registry of Norway 2024, Table 26 (2015–2024). Annual values checked on 3 November 2026.

FHI · Medical Birth Registry of Norway · 2015–2025

Severe birth tears and bleeding

These annual figures come directly from FHI's registry tables, using national figures and verified categories. Birth tears concern vaginal births. The bleeding indicators concern all births. Changes show recorded outcomes, not their causes.

FHI · Medical Birth Registry of Norway

Diabetes before or during pregnancy

The registry shows births where the mother had pre-existing diabetes or was recorded as having diabetes during pregnancy. The figures describe births, not the number of unique women. Gestational diabetes alone is a narrower category.

The percentage is calculated by dividing births recorded with diabetes by all births in the same year. Changes may be influenced by diagnostic and recording practices, among other factors. We cannot establish a definite cause of the trend from this series alone.

Gestational diabetes from 2015 to 2024

Recorded cases of gestational diabetes per 1,000 births. This is not the same as all types of diabetes before or during pregnancy, shown in the overview above.

The figures have been converted from cases per 1,000 births into percentages. FHI emphasises that changes in diagnosis, screening and reporting may explain some of the increase. The change should not be interpreted solely as an increase in disease risk.

Statistics Norway · Births

Fertility and age at first birth

The table on maternal age shows three source-documented comparison years (2015, 2024 and 2025). The total fertility rate now has a complete annual series. Intermediate age values have not been retrieved and are therefore neither estimated nor shown as a continuous trend chart. The total fertility rate is a period measure calculated from age-specific birth rates. It does not show how many children each individual woman actually has over her lifetime. The age concerns mothers at their first birth, not everyone giving birth.