The Netherlands currently has the lowest number of teenage mothers it has ever had

There have never been so few teenage mothers in the Netherlands as there are now. At the start of this year, 1,250 teenagers had a child, which is significantly lower than in 2010, when over 3,000 teenagers had a child. These statistics were provided by Statistics Netherlands.

Experts say that the reduction is due to many teenage girls using an IUD birth control device, which is better protection against unwanted pregnancies. Anti-conception has also been a part of the primary health insurance package since 2011. Since the turn of the century, the number of teenage mothers has dropped almost every year. The number only rose slightly in 2022.

All the provinces and biggest municipalities are reporting fewer young mothers than 14 years ago. The most significant decrease since 2010 was in Noord-Holland and Noord-Brabant, with a 70 percent decrease in both provinces.

This number also fell by similar percentages in most of the other largest municipalities. Only The Hague had a lower reduction than other large cities, with 49 percent.

Proportionally, Flevoland has the most mothers under the age of 20: 21 per 10,000 girls. The province of Utrecht has the fewest, with seven per 10,000 girls. Nationally, an average of 13 in every 10,000 teenage girls have a child. Of the ten largest municipalities, this number is relatively highest in Rotterdam.