National Data

• The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy, births, and abortion in the fully industrialized world. (1)
  
  
• Three in ten girls in the U.S. become pregnant at least once before age 20 — that’s over 750,000 teen pregnancies a year.
  
  
• Although the U.S. birth rate for 15 to 19 year olds declined by 30% over the past decade, it rose by 3 percent in 2006.  This was the first increase in the US teen birth rate in 14 years.

State of Georgia Data

• Georgia has the 8th highest teen birth rate in the nation. (2)
  
  
• Over 22,500 teen pregnancies occur each year in our state. (3) That's 62 new teen pregnancies each day – or over 2 teen pregnancies an hour.
  
  
• According to the State Division of Public Health, the teen pregnancy rate in Georgia is over 67 pregnancies per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19.
  
  
• While the teen birth rate has declined by 30% in Georgia over the past decade, there was a 3 percent increase in Georgia’s teen birth rate in 2006.
  
  
• The pregnancy rate for African-American girls has declined the most over the past decade, but the current pregnancy rate for African-American girls is still almost twice the rate of Caucasians in our state.
  
  
• Over the past decade in our state, the pregnancy rate for Latina girls actually increased, while rates for other groups decreased.
  
  
• Nearly 28% of teen pregnancies in Georgia occur among girls who have already been pregnant at least once before.
  
  
• Georgia ranks 2nd highest among the states in the rate of repeat births to teens. (4) Teen parents and their children face educational and economic challenges that are compounded by repeat births.
  
  
• G-CAPP has launched a statewide 15 by 15 goal, to achieve a 15% reduction in the adolescent pregnancy rate for girls ages 15 to 19 in Georgia by year 2015.

How Does Teen Pregnancy Impact our State?

Teen Pregnancy and Poverty

• Adolescent pregnancy prevention is an effective poverty reduction strategy.
  
  
• The poverty rate for children born to teen mothers who have never married and have not graduated from high school is 78 percent. (5)
  
  
• If the teen birth rate in Georgia had not declined nearly 30 percent between 1991 and 2002, there would have been 9,700 more children under age six living in poverty and over 17,000 more children under age six living with a single mother in 2002. (6)
  
  
• Less than 4 out of 10 teen mothers ever complete high school. (7)  High school dropouts are less likely to be employed and have significantly lower earnings than those with at least a high school degree.

Teen Pregnancy and the Economy

• In addition to improving the lives of children and families, adolescent pregnancy prevention efforts create significant savings for taxpayers.
  
  
• The decline in the teen birth rate in Georgia between 1991 and 2004 saved taxpayers an estimated $227 million in 2004 alone. (8)
  
  
• On the other hand, failing to invest in teen pregnancy prevention costs our society billions of dollars.  Between 1991 and 2004, teen births in Georgia cost taxpayers a total of $5.7 billion.
  
  
• Teen childbearing in our state cost taxpayers at least $344 million in 2004 alone.

Teen Pregnancy and Child Well-Being

• Preventing teen pregnancy is an effective strategy for improving child well-being in our state.
  
  
• Georgia ranks 41st in the nation in overall child well-being. (2)  Many of the individual indicators of child well-being in which Georgia ranks in the bottom 10 of the 50 states are highly interrelated with teen pregnancy. (7)
  
  
• Georgia ranks 43rd in the nation in low birth weight babies.  Children of teen mothers are more likely to be born prematurely and at low birth weight.
  
  
• Georgia ranks 42nd in the nation in the infant mortality rate.  Children of teen mothers are more likely to be born prematurely, raising the probability of infant mortality.
  
  
• Georgia ranks 43rd in the nation in the percentage of children in single-parent families. Evidence demonstrates that unmarried teen mothers are at greater risk for long term single motherhood and poverty for themselves and their children.
  
  
• Georgia ranks 45th in the nation in the percentage of teens who are not in school and not employed.  Teen mothers are less likely to complete the education necessary to qualify for well-paying jobs.  Also, in Georgia over one-fourth of teen pregnancies are repeat pregnancies.  Having multiple children compounds the challenges a teen mother faces to finish school or keep a job.