In countries where data on induced abortion are underreported or nonexistent - such as the Philippines and Bangladesh - indirect estimation techniques may be used to approximate the level of abortion. The collection of data about women hospitalized for abortion complications and the use of such indirect estimation techniques indicates that the abortion rate in the Philippines is within the range of 20-30 induced abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-49, and the rate in Bangladesh ranges between 26 and 30 per 1,000. About 400,000 abortions are estimated to occur each year in the Philippines, while the number in Bangladesh is calculated to be about 730,000. Some 80,000 women per year are estimated to be treated in hospitals in the Philippines for complications of induced abortion; in Bangladesh, about 52,000 women are treated for such complications, and another 19,000 are treated for complications resulting from menstrual regulation procedures. The probability that a woman will be hospitalized for abortion complications in the Philippines is twice that in Bangladesh, probably because menstrual regulation procedures by trained providers account for about two-thirds of all voluntary pregnancy terminations in Bangladesh.
