Registered abortions in Russia have fallen fourfold over 15 years, report finds

The number of officially registered abortions in Russia has fallen fourfold over the past 15 years, dropping from 1.01 million in 2010 to an estimated 236,000 in 2025, according to calculations by the business daily Vedomosti based on data from Russia’s state statistics agency Rosstat, the Health Ministry, and expert estimates.

Among the world’s 100 largest economies, Russia saw the sharpest decline in its abortion rate over that period, moving from 93rd to 30th place in the ranking of abortions per 100 births, the outlet found. Vedomosti noted, however, that such international comparisons remain imprecise, since countries differ in how they record abortions, in access to medical care and in the laws governing the procedure. Additionally, the figures used for some countries were not official data but modeled estimates.

At the same time, miscarriages have come to account for a growing share of all pregnancy terminations in Russia. In 2025 there were roughly 186,000 registered miscarriages, or 44% of the total, up from just 15% in 2010.

Abortion on request remains legal in Russia up to the 12th week of pregnancy. In recent years, however, authorities have stepped up efforts to discourage the procedure: many regions have introduced penalties for “coercing” a woman into having an abortion, and a number of private clinics have stopped offering abortions altogether.

In December 2025, Russia recorded its first known punishment under such a law. A court in Saransk fined a man 5,000 rubles (€50) for pressuring a woman who was pregnant with twins to have an abortion.