Teenage pregnancy rates and child mortality are falling around the world

Teenage pregnancy rates and child mortality have fallen around the world in the last few decades, which experts believe is likely due to greater access to education, contraceptives and health care. Birth rates have also fallen among adolescents aged 10 to 14 years old, where serious health concerns for pregnancy in such young girls are even greater.

The World Health Organization (WHO) uses preventing teen pregnancy as one of the Sustainable Development Goal indicators, as it reflects how empowered young girls are, as well as rates of sexual violence, literacy, access to contraception and parental support. Global data also shows that the death rate for children under five has fallen, driven by many of the same factors behind the drop in teen pregnancy.

According to the WHO, strategies and interventions related to adolescent pregnancy have focused on prevention. However, there is growing attention on improving access to quality maternal care for pregnant and parenting adolescents. Sadly, access to quality care depends on the geographic context and the social status of adolescents. Even where access is not limited, adolescents appear to receive a lower quality of both clinical care and interpersonal support than adult women. Recent dramatic cuts by the United States to aid programs will no doubt affect adolescent access to care.

You can use the Our World in Data interactive map to explore the data by country, including Australia, where pregnancy rates for girls aged 15 to 19 have fallen from 18.4% in 2020 to 6.6% in 2024.