Declining adolescent pregnancies in South Africa: Insights from public sector data, 2021 - 2025

Abstract

Background. In South Africa (SA), adolescent pregnancy, particularly in very young girls, is an issue of keen public and political concern given its social and health implications. Objective. To provide a quantitative baseline that SA can use for targeting its efforts to address adolescent pregnancy and for measuring progress over time. Methods. Using public sector service data for deliveries and terminations of pregnancies, we estimated adolescent pregnancy rates among adolescent girls aged 10 - 14 and 15 - 19 years for the financial years 2021/22 - 2024/25. Results. In 2025, the adolescent pregnancy rate (including births and terminations) for 15 - 19-year-olds was 48.9 per 1 000. For 10 - 14-year-olds, it was 1.2 per 1 000. Both the total number of births and the adolescent pregnancy rates dropped annually over the 4-year period of review, and reversed the previous trend of increases from 2017/18 through to 2020/21. Although there were decreases in births and adolescent pregnancy rates in all provinces, there were greater decreases in the more rural provinces compared with the more urban provinces (e.g. Western Cape and Gauteng). Termination of pregnancy rates were also higher in more urban provinces. Conclusion. While SA already has a strong policy framework for addressing adolescent pregnancy, there is a need for a national strategy and improved co-ordination of efforts. Indeed, the updated 2025 World Health Organization guidelines on preventing adolescent pregnancy and mitigating its adverse impacts highlight the need for a broad, multisectoral approach.