Is IVF Becoming More Common? The Numbers by Country & Age

Obviously, IVF has become more common since the first ‘test tube’ baby was born in 1978, and since it became a more widely available fertility treatment in the 90s, but I wanted to know whether IVF is continuing to become more common even today. Here’s what I found out.

IVF is becoming more common even today as you can see from the graph above. The lowest estimated number of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) cycles in the world was 1,052,363 in 2005, 1,643,456 in 2010, and 3,353,463 in 2016. The lowest estimated number of ART babies born in the world was 256,415 in 2005, 404,364 in 2010 and 618,451 in 2016.

Lowest Estimated Number of ART Cycles & Babies Born in the World by Year

	ART Cycles	Babies Born
2003	932,415	232,980
2005	1,052,363	256,415
2010	1,643,456	404,364
2011	2,000,000	500,000
2013	2,100,000	476,000
2014	2,300,000	510,000
2015	2,500,000	661,000
2016	3,353,463	618,451

These numbers come from the International Committee Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART) which can be found here.

I then decided to look at whether this varies by country and age, and as the rest of this article will show IVF is becoming more common in the USA, the UK, Australia & New Zealand (their numbers are reported together), Canada, Japan & Russia. IVF is also becoming more common for women of all ages.

First of All: 2 Disclaimers

Before we look at the numbers in more detail, I want to make some disclaimers.

First, I’m not a scientist, and this is not a scientific study done under whatever the appropriate conditions for such a thing are. I’m just a woman who went in search of the numbers using what she hopes is some sound common sense because she found IVF becoming more common in her life and was wondering whether it was the same for others.

Secondly, I decided that a good way to tell whether IVF is becoming more common is by the number of ART cycles (the vast majority of which are IVF) and the number of babies born using ART. This may not be the best way to tell whether IVF is becoming more common, but it makes sense to me – see previous disclaimer.

IVF Is Becoming More Common in the USA

As you can see, the pattern of this graph is very similar to the pattern for the world graph.

The number of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) cycles in the USA was 134,260 in 2005, 147,260 in 2010, 231,936 in 2015 and 306,197 in 2018. The number of ART babies born in the USA was 52,041 in 2005, 61,564 in 2010, 72,913 in 2015 and 81,478 in 2018. So IVF is becoming more common in the USA.

And this is not just in one or two age groups. IVF is becoming more common in the USA for women of all ages at about the same rate, as can be seen in the table below:

Number of ART Cycles in the USA by Year & Age

	<35	35–37	38–40	41–42	>42
2005	53,567	29,627	25,401	12,951	12,714
2010	57,299	29,826	29,936	15,015	15,184
2015	88,368	48,707	44,996	23,194	26,673
2016	100,950	56,669	50,343	25,303	30,311
2017	106,966	63,369	55,203	26,788	32,059
2018	113,845	69,614	60,038	28,836	33,864

Number of ART Live Births in the USA by Year & Age (with own eggs) excluding multiples

	<35	35–37	38–40	41–42	>42
2007	20,216	8,780	5,188	1,332	326
2010	22,174	8,967	6,135	1,597	413
2011	22,390	9,190	6,099	1,761	492
2012	23,986	9,848	6,359	1,907	545
2013	25,000	10,434	6,565	1,975	689
2014	26,211	11,368	7,013	1,995	709
2015	28,012	12,012	7,579	2,238	810
2016	29,860	13,647	8,560	2,610	1,108

Although the age group that has the largest number of ART cycles and live births are women under 35, a relatively similar increase in ART cycles and live births is occurring in most age groups.

All these numbers come from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) which can be found here.

IVF Is Becoming More Common in the UK

This graph actually shows a decrease in IVF cycles and live births in the UK from 2017 to 2018, but as you can see, unless this trend (yes, a very sciencey word so maybe I’m a scientist after all) continues for the next few years (we’re still waiting for those numbers – it takes a few years before they’re ready) overall IVF is becoming more common in the UK.

The number of IVF cycles in the UK was 41,998 in 2005, 58,021 in 2010, 65,348 in 2015 and 69,573 in 2017. The number of IVF live births in the UK was 11,422 in 2005, 17,080 in 2010, 20,765 in 2015 and 21,990 in 2017.

This pattern of a slight decrease from 2017 to 2018 but overall increase since 2005 occurred for most age ranges, as can be seen in the table below:

Number of IVF Cycles in the UK by Year & Age

	<35	35 – 37	38 – 39	40 – 42	43 – 44	>44
2005	17,347	10,018	5,829	4,912	1,041	327
2010	23,473	13,018	9,075	7,335	1,672	517
2015	26,894	14,053	8,613	8,058	2,087	677
2016	27,389	15,053	9,091	8,247	2,163	734
2017	27,539	15,425	9,429	8,590	2,235	745
2018	26,175	14,620	9,460	8,418	2,164	693

Number of IVF Live Birth Occurrences in the UK by Year & Age (patient eggs)

	<35	35 – 37	38 – 39	40 – 42	43 – 44	>44
2005	4,792	2,249	983	501	29	12
2010	7,061	3,443	1,835	1,005	97	19
2015	9,345	4,110	1,912	1,229	144	22
2016	9,352	4,430	2,078	1,250	149	31
2017	9,491	4,714	2,205	1,403	151	27
2018	8,662	4,057	2,135	1,262	131	28

Once again, it wasn’t a matter of IVF cycles and live birth occurrences increasing in one or two age groups only. IVF is clearly becoming more common in the UK across all age groups.

One thing I did notice is that for IVF cycles the increase was greater for women aged 38 and over (approximately doubling since 2005) whereas for women under 38 it only increased by about half in the same time frame.

This could mean that IVF is becoming even more common for women aged 38 and over but because live birth occurrences approximately doubled for women of all ages, (except for women aged 43 – 44 where they increased more than four times) I think the more likely explanation is simply that younger women need less cycles to become pregnant.

All the above numbers come from the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) which can be found here.

IVF Is Becoming More Common in Australia & New Zealand

IVF is also becoming more common in Australia & New Zealand as this graph shows, with both the number of IVF cycles and liveborn babies increasing between 2002 and 2018.

The number of IVF cycles in Australia & New Zealand was 51,017 in 2005, 61,774 in 2010, 77,721 in 2015 and 84,064 in 2018. The number of IVF liveborn babies was 9,283 in 2005, 12,056 in 2010, 14,655 in 2015 and 15,980 in 2018.

The number of IVF cycles and liveborn babies increased across all age groups showing IVF is becoming more common in Australia & New Zealand for women of all ages:

Number of IVF Cycles in Australia & New Zealand by Year & Age (excluding surrogacy & donations)

	<30	30-34	35-39	40-44	>44
2005	5,214	14,715	16,719	8,841	1,076
2010	6,544	15,849	22,686	13,984	1,624
2015	7,856	21,390	27,002	18,037	2,024
2016	7,969	22,538	28,311	18,499	2,214
2017	8,389	22,879	29,219	17,794	2,388
2018	7,936	23,553	30,135	18,569	2,377

Number of IVF Liveborn Babies in Australia & New Zealand by Year & Age

	<30	30-34	35-39	40-44	>44
2005	925	3,065	3,191	914	119
2010	1,331	3,661	4,422	1,675	166
2015	1,592	4,856	5,348	2,059	240
2016	1,481	5,032	5,581	2,218	278
2017	1,573	5,149	5,849	2,142	281
2018	1,558	5,194	6,136	2,358	293

Like the UK numbers, the increase in IVF cycles is greater for older age groups, with it being about 50% for women under 35 and about 100% or more for women 35 and over.

This time however, the number of liveborn babies did not increase by the same amount across all ages but instead was, like IVF cycles, greater for older age groups. Either way the overall trend is the same. IVF becoming more common for women of all ages.

These numbers come from the Australia and New Zealand Assisted Reproduction Database (ANZARD) which can be found here.

IVF Is Becoming More Common in Canada

In Canada, IVF is also becoming more common with the number of ART cycles and live births increasing (with the exception of one dip). The number of ART cycles were 15,000 in 2008, 27,356 in 2012, 29,538 in 2015 and 34,136 in 2017. The number of live births in Canada were 3,932 in 2008, 5,971 in 2012, 6,379 in 2015 and 6,903 in 2017.

Once again, this increase occurs across all age groups as can be seen in the following table:

Number of ART Cycles in Canada by Year & Age

	<35	35-37	38-40	41-42	>42
2013	10,520	5,906	4,892	2,383	1,648
2014	11,182	6,563	5,690	2,901	1,859
2015	11,490	6,853	6,144	2,924	2,156
2016	12,134	7,349	6,349	3,190	2,252
2017	13,347	8,022	6,861	3,379	2,492
2018	13,193	8,431	7,302	3,598	2,787

These numbers come from the Canadian Fertility & Andrology Society which can be found here.

IVF Is Becoming More Common in Japan

As you can see from the graph above, the number of ART cycles and Newborns in Japan has increased between 2000 – 2018. ART cycles were 125,470 in 2005, 242,161 in 2010, 424,151 in 2015 and 454,893 in 2018. The number of newborns were 19,112 in 2005, 28,945 in 2010, 51,001 in 2015 and 56,979 in 2018. Clearly IVF has also become more common in Japan.

And once again, for all ages:

Number of ART Cycles in Japan by Year & Age

	<35	35-37	38-40	41-42	>42
2008	57,137	43,357	42,795	21,142	26,188
2015	89,769	80,827	107,766	73,789	72,000
2016	97,711	84,942	113,162	77,267	74,708
2017	103,249	84,498	111,397	73,965	75,101
2018	107,276	85,608	111,345	73,596	77,068

Number of ART Live Births in Japan by Year & Age

	<35	35-37	38-40	41-42	>42
2015	18,454	13,709	12,042	4,053	1,315
2016	19,819	14,287	12,697	4,408	1,293
2017	21,598	14,736	12,821	4,389	1,453
2018	22,154	14,628	12,924	4,339	1,454

Since the 2008 number for ART cycles were available it’s interesting to note that in ten years, they almost doubled for women up to 37, they almost tripled for women between 38 – 40 and they more than tripled for women over 40.

However, if you just look at the number of ART cycles and live births between 2015 and 2018, you’ll see a relatively greater increase of both, the younger the age group. This might indicate IVF becoming more common the younger the age group but with so much data unavailable it’s difficult to say for certain.

These numbers come from the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG) and can be found here.

IVF Is Becoming More Common in Russia

The final country I looked at was Russia where IVF is also becoming more common. As you can see, the number of ART cycles (excluding donation cycles) and births in Russia has increased. ART cycles were 17,242 in 2005, 39,988 in 2010, 111,972 in 2015 and 158,815 in 2018. The number of births were 3,855 in 2005, 11,417 in 2010, 30,039 in 2015 and 37,987 in 2018.

The table below shows IVF in Russia is becoming more common for women of  all ages because the number of ART cycles and births is increasing across every age group:

Number of ART Cycles in Russia by Year & Age

	<35	35-39	>39
2005	8,870	3,445	1,966
2010	19,989	11,080	6,035
2015	50,924	32,791	17,229
2016	56,273	33,666	18,578
2017	62,745	39,511	21,880
2018	65,170	42,128	23,755

Number of ART Births in Russia by Year & Age

	<35	35-39	>39
2007	3,267	1,448	393
2010	5,592	2,697	1,068
2015	14,085	7,464	2,476
2016	15,037	7,259	2,438
2017	16,493	8,097	3,022
2018	17,438	9,148	3,203

Interestingly, the increase is mostly relatively greater the older the age group both for ART cycles and births. Relatively speaking therefore, in Russia, while IVF is becoming more common for women of all ages it’s becoming even more common for older age groups.

These numbers come from the Russian National ART Register and can be found here.

Some Concrete Takeaways From All the Numbers

There are a number of things that we can see from the numbers presented:

• The number of ART cycles and births are still increasing both worldwide and in all the countries I looked at. Even today, IVF is becoming more common.

• IVF is becoming more common for women of all ages. Sometimes it’s becoming even more common, relatively speaking, for older age groups.

• ART cycles are increasing more rapidly than births in all countries. A hypothesis to explain this is the increasing industrialization and commoditization in IVF practice that affects IVF outcomes. No, I’m still not a scientist, it was just something I read here.