Nearly half of all pregnancies, totaling 121 million each year throughout the world, are unintended. For the women and girls affected, the most life-altering reproductive choice—whether or not to become pregnant—is no choice at all, explains the State of World Population 2022 report, released by UNFPA, a United Nations agency.

The ground-breaking report, “Seeing the Unseen: The case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy,” warns that this human rights crisis has profound consequences for societies, women and girls and global health.

Over 60 per cent of unintended pregnancies end in abortion, i.e., a total of 36 million unborn lives taken away. Out of this an estimated 45 per cent of all abortions are unsafe, causing 5-13 per cent of all maternal deaths, thereby having a major impact on the world’s ability to reach the Sustainable Development Goals.

The war in Ukraine, other conflicts and crises around the world are expected to drive an increase in such pregnancies.

“This report is a wakeup call. The staggering number of unintended pregnancies represents a global failure to uphold women and girls’ basic human rights,” says UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem.

“For the women affected, the most life-altering reproductive choice—whether or not to become pregnant—is no choice at all. By putting the power to make this most fundamental decision squarely in the hands of women and girls, societies can ensure that motherhood is an aspiration and not an inevitability.”
-Report published by UNFPA