Teenage pregnancies
Year of conception, ending 31 December 2023

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) provides an annual update on teenage pregnancy statistics in Scotland which are based on age at conception and presented by year of conception. The most recent information is for the calendar year ending 31 December 2023. The lag in reporting is due to the amount of time required for a conception to result in an end of pregnancy outcome and for the relevant documentation to be recorded and validated.

Main points

• The teenage pregnancy rate in Scotland increased slightly from 25.5 per 1,000 women in 2022 to 25.8 in 2023. This is equal to 3,801 teenage pregnancies in 2023 (76 more than in 2022).

Line chart showing teenage pregnancy rates per 1,000 women from 2000 to 2023 (based on year of conception) for each of the following age groups at conception: under 16, under 18 and under 20. Each age group is represented by a different colour of line.

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Teenage pregnancy by age group at conception, 2000-2023

• While five mainland NHS boards saw an increase, or no change in teenage pregnancy rates between 2022 and 2023, six saw rates fall (NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Borders, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Fife, NHS Grampian, and NHS Lanarkshire).
• Teenage pregnancy rates varied by NHS board of residence. In 2023, NHS Borders recorded the lowest overall rate of any mainland NHS board while NHS Tayside recorded the highest (19.6 and 32.6 respectively).
• The termination rate rose between 2022 and 2023 (from 14.5 to 15.5) while the birth rate fell (from 11 to 10.3). In 2023, 60.1% of teenage pregnancies ended in termination rather than birth.
• There was variation in the proportions of teenage pregnancy outcomes (birth or termination) across NHS boards. For pregnancies that ended in birth in 2023, this ranged from 34.3% in NHS Lothian to 53.2% in NHS Ayrshire and Arran.
• The teenage pregnancy rate was more than three times higher for those living in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived areas in 2023.
• As the level of deprivation increased, a higher proportion of teenage pregnancies ended in birth rather than termination. In 2023, this proportion rose from 15.8% in the least deprived areas to 50.2% in the most deprived areas.

Background

In this year’s release, data has been sourced from the Scottish Linked Pregnancy and Baby Dataset (SLiPBD) and includes all pregnancies which ended in a birth (multiple births are treated as a single event) or a termination. Whilst for some young women a teenage pregnancy is planned, for others it represents an unintended conception. Reducing unintended teenage pregnancy is a priority.

User consultation

The reproductive and maternal health analytical team seek your views on changing from a long-form publication (report with text commentary) to only a summary publication of main points and new findings, in future. All currently available data tables will continue to be published along with the summary report. If you have any concerns or comments on these proposed changes, please email: phs.maternitystats@phs.scot.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be July 2026.