According to figures recently published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), the number of abortions performed in Switzerland increased in 2020 compared to the previous year.

The figures for the cantons of Bern and Glarus are still missing, but in the remaining cantons, there were 10,906 abortions in 2020, a record since the statistics were first published in 2007.

After a decline since 2010, the rate of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 rose from 6.5 to 6.8, equalling the annual record set in 2011.

Among the regions where abortion rates are higher than the Swiss average, in the Lake Geneva region (9.0) and the canton of Zurich (7.4), the rates have remained stable compared to 2019, while the cantons of Basel-Stadt (9.1), Basel-Landschaft (7.2) and Schaffhausen (8.0) showed the greatest increase.

The rate is lowest in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Uri (2.5). 237 women residing abroad had abortions in Switzerland in 2020.

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(c) Evangelical Focus, used with permission