Sex Education Statistics – The state of sexual education (+Dataset)

Updated 09/12-2022

This is the absolute biggest and most comprehensive statistic available on sexual education. We have more than 250,000 data points from the period 1995 – 2022.

The report focuses on sex education in the US and covers all aspects of it. We’ve been in contact with all relevant sources such as; teachers, students, psychologists, etc., and thereby showcased the area from all perspectives. You’ll in this statistical piece find all the information you need, and the best of it all is; we’ll keep the dataset updated, so you always can rely on our key findings.

Please get in contact to get the full dataset – available for SPSS, Stata, R, & SAS or as simple CSV or TxT files.

You may use the data from this analysis with reference to this page or Bedbible.com. For special requests please email lead researcher Rebecca Dickson at Rebecca@bedbible.com

Data & Methodology

• Data points from 1995 – 2022 (continuously updated)
• 266,372 respondents
• The dataset focuses on The United States
• Data consists of qualitative interviews (2 teachers, and 2 psychologists) and quantitative data (surveys combined with publicly available data)
• 60% of the dataset is males, and 40% in females
• We primarily interviewed 15-19 years old and 20-25 years old. The vast majority were 15-19 years old.

Table of Contents

• Definition of Sex Education
• Data for Analysis
  • Data 1
  • Table 1
  • Table 2
  • Table 3
  • Table 4
  • Table 5
  • Table 6
  • Table 7
• Statistics on the U.S. States With the Highest Teenage Pregnancy Rates
• Statistics on the Percentage of Live Births That Were the Result of Unwanted Pregnancy
• Sex Education in the US: Support and Legislation
• Lack of Sex Education: Top Challenges and Consequences
• Sex Education: School Curricula and Funding
• Teenage Pregnancy and Birth Rates: Stats and Trends
  • Teenage Birth Rate Map Across the United States
  • Statistics on Aggregated U.S. Federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Funding (1998-2016)
• The Role of Parents in Promoting Sex Education

Definition: What is Sex Education?

Sex Education is learning about everything related to sex-act. So that is also information about; condoms, penetration, birth, STDs, etc.

Sex education is often shortened to SexEd, and is typically associated with Elementary Schools and High Schools. But few colleges/universities do also have sex education on the timetable.

Data for analysis

Data 1: The overview

Get the dataset by reaching out to: rebecca@bedbible.com. Remember to write “SexEd-Bedbible” in the subject title. Then it’ll automatically be sent to your mail, and we can keep counting how many times the dataset has been downloaded.

Data Downloaded: 449,252

Table 1: States Where Sex Education Is Mandated

Table 2: States Where Sex Education Must Be Medically Accurate When Taught

Table 3: States Where Sex Education Must Cover Contraception

Table 4: States Where Sex Education Must Be Inclusive of Sexual Orientation

Table 5: States Where Sex Education Must Be Negative Toward Sexual Orientation

Table 6: Teen Birth Rates in the United States

Births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 19 estimated in each state

Table 7: STDs Reported by Teens in the United States (pr. 1,000 cases)

Statistics on the U.S. States With the Highest Teenage Pregnancy Rates

• District of Columbia
• Arkansas
• Mississippi
• New Mexico
• Louisiana
• Oklahoma
• Kentucky
• Texas
• Alabama
• West Virginia
• Tennessee

Statistics on the Percentage of Live Births That Were the Result of Unwanted Pregnancy, by Age

• From 2013 to 2014, there is 9.8% of live births in the age range of 35-44
• 6.4% of live births are recorded among women aged 18-24 years old
• 4.9% of live births are observed among those who are within the range of 25-34 years old

Sex Education in the US: Support and Legislation

• 30 states apart from DC require public educational institutions to teach sex education
• 93% of parents are in favor of teaching sex education in middle school
• 96% of parents are in favor of teaching sex education in high school
• Over 150 credible organizations in the US support the implementation of comprehensive sexual education classes across the country
• Every state has some form of guidance as to how and when sex education should be taught to teenagers, with the implementation often being carried out by individual school districts

Lack of Sex Education: Top Challenges and Consequences

• Despite recording an all-time low in teenage pregnancy rates in 2016, the US still tops the list compared to other industrialized countries like the UK and Canada
• Americans aged 15-24 accounted for 50% of the total STD-reported cases in 2013
• Instead of teaching and expanding on sexual education, educators and health professionals say that abstinence is key
• Teachers lack comprehensive direction on how to talk about safe sex and how to prevent teenage pregnancy
• Teenagers are not allowed to obtain contraceptives from their local grocery stores or health centers
• There is a lack of resources in high school, middle school, and even colleges
• Teenagers who identify themselves as members of the LGBTQ can be at higher risk of contracting dangerous diseases because:
  • Some states do not allow teachers to discuss sexual orientations in class
  • No states mandate gender identity discussion in sex education
  • There are no positive representations of relevant topics surrounding the LGBTQ community
• Lack of strong initiative from teachers, parents, and students alike
• The pressure being felt by educators for discussing controversial topics and the varying reactions from parents and students

Sex Education: School Curricula and Funding

The United States employs three curricula in sex education. They are as follows:

• Abstinence-Only
  • Teaches teenagers that abstinence is the only moral solution against teenage pregnancy and other risks
  • No information was provided about the responsible use of condoms and other contraception methods
  • Research shows that this curriculum did not have favorable outcomes for promoting sexual education to students despite having over a $1 billion budget since 1996 from the Clinton and Bush administrations
  • Received a $75 million fund allocation from the Trump administration despite poor results
• Abstinence Plus
  • Promotes abstinence until marriage
  • Provides information about condoms and contraceptives
  • Research shows that areas with Abstinence Plus in their education system still leave one out of 10 students failing to know about the proper use of condoms and contraceptives
• Comprehensive
  • Promotes abstinence but also encourages students to make responsible decisions 
  • Teaches teenagers that sexuality is a healthy and natural part of human life
  • Promotes the discussion of shame-free topics such as relationships, sexual health, sexual expressions, interpersonal skills, and human development, among others
  • Promotes the elimination of coeducation classes
  • First funded by the Obama administration but did not receive continuous support from the Trump administration

Teenage Pregnancy and Birth Rates: Stats and Trends

In the United States, teenage pregnancy refers to females who become pregnant under 20. There has been a significant decline in the teenage birth rate since 2010.

• 3 out of 10 American teenagers get pregnant at least once before they reach 20 
• 50% of teenagers who got pregnant failed to graduate from high school
• About 25% of teenage moms welcome their second baby two years after the first one on average
• 80% of teenage pregnancies occurred due to a lack of sex education
• 60% of teenage pregnancies end in live births
• 15% of teenage pregnancies end in miscarriage

Teenage Birth Rate Map across the United States

Aside from the lack of sex education within and across US states, many geographic differences impact teenage birth rates, such as the social status of the teenager’s family and poor health and environmental settings. 

Here are the teenage birth rate maps for females aged 15-19 across the United States. 

• The birth rate is equal to or greater than 30
  • Alabama
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • District of Columbia
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • New Mexico
  • Oklahoma
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • West Virginia

• The birth rate is less than 30
  • Alaska
  • Georgia
  • Indiana
  • Kansas
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nevada
  • North Carolina
  • Ohio
  • South Dakota
  • Wyoming

• The birth rate is less than 25
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Iowa
  • Michigan
  • Nebraska
  • North Dakota
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Utah

• The birth rate is less than 20
  • Connecticut 
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Minnesota
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • Wisconsin

Statistics on Aggregated U.S. Federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Funding (1998-2016)

• Title V abstinence education block grant (956.4 million dollars)
• Teen pregnancy prevention (721 million dollars)
• Community-based abstinence education program (705.1 million dollars)
• Adolescent family life program-” care” component (217.1 million dollars)
• Competitive abstinence-only grants (29.7 million dollars)

The Role of Parents in Promoting Sex Education

Here are some of the key things that parents can do to educate teens about sex and its consequences. 

1. Be clear and concise about your attitudes and values. 
2. Talk with your teens early, and make sure to be specific on the topic.
3. Establish rules and expectations and stick to them.
4. Get to know your kid’s friends as well as their families.
5. Limit your kid from going to one-on-one dating; encourage group activities as much as possible.
6. Set a limit about the age of suitors who can visit your teen –a three-year age gap at the most.
7. Always talk to your teen about their goals and dreams for the future. 
8. Set expectations for academic performance and help them hit the mark.
9. Try to find out about the things your teen watches, reads, and listens to.
10. Establish a healthy, positive relationship with your child. 

Final Thoughts

Sex, being a normal part of human life, can happen with or without sex education. However, society’s and parents’ responsibility is to provide young people with clear and accurate information about sex and relationships, their consequences, and the like, especially at an early age. The government and all the involved parties must empower the youth and inspire them to make decisions from a well-informed perspective at all costs.