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Amplify Report Card: Mississippi
Mississippi's AIDS rate is near the national average. However, Mississippi has a higher teen pregnancy rate than the national rate, and among the worst STI rates in the nation, including the worst gonorrhea rate of any state.
| Teen Pregnancy Rate* | Teen Birth Rate* | AIDS Rate (Cases per 100,000 people) | STI Rate+ | % of high school students who used a condom at last sex | |
| Mississippi | 85 | 64 | 12.1 | 285.7 | 67 |
| National | 70 | 42 | 12.5 | 117.4 | 62 |
*Per 1000 young women ages 15-19
+Because of concern over recent changes in Chlamydia reporting and relative low incidence of syphilis, we used the state's gonorrhea rate as a stand-in for sexually transmitted infection rates.
(Visit the Amplify Grading Standards page to learn how we assessed this grade. Report cards will be updated as new information becomes available.)
Did You Know?
Mississippi schools are not required to teach sex education, even though most high school students in the state report already having had sex.
Other facts about Mississippi :
- Sixty percent of Mississippi’s high school students report ever having had sex – a higher percentage than in any other state.
- There are over 60,000 sexually active teenagers in Mississippi.
- Mississippi has the 4th highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation.
- There are almost 5000 people living with HIV in Mississippi.
- Over one-fifth of Mississippi’s population lives in poverty.
Looking for more information
Looking for more information on young people’s rights or reproductive and sexual health in Mississippi? Check out these sites to learn more!
Learn more about HIV, STIs, teen pregnancy, and the factors that are putting young people at risk in your state and nationwide:
- Kaiser State Facts on HIV/AIDS – Statistics on HIV and AIDS in your state, plus many more health statistics. See how your state compares to other states and to national statistics.
- National Campaign to Prevent Teen And Unplanned Pregnancy - A detailed profile of teen life in your state, including teen population demographics, teen safer sex, and teen pregnancy in your state; check out how your state compares to other states and to national statistics!
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Sexually Transmitted Infections Surveillance Maps: Youth ages 15-19 contract almost half of the nation’s 19 million STIs every year. How is your state doing at STI prevention? Click through to a map of the United States showing each state’s STI rates.
- The Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Center – Many social factors contribute to risk for HIV, STIs, and teen pregnancy. See how your state compares in over 100 measures of well-being, including poverty, unemployment and underemployment, and health insurance coverage.
Learn more about sex education in Mississippi: What does your state’s law say about sex education? Is sex education mandatory? Is it prohibited? Does your state teach abstinence-only education? The Sexuality Education and Information Council of the United States (SIECUS) has the facts on sex education policy and funding in your state.Or see the statutes governing sex education
Does Mississippi ensure the safety of GLBTQ youth in schools? The Gay Lesbian Straight Educators Network (GLSEN) has examined school policies and programs and assessed each state’s efforts. Find out where your state is succeeding and where more work is needed.
Learn more about contraceptive services in Mississippi: Where does your state rank on providing women the contraceptive access and reproductive health services they need? Does insurance cover birth control pills? How many family planning clinics are there? Find out in Contraception Counts, a report on your state from the Guttmacher Institute.
Know your rights: What are your rights to birth control, HIV testing, and abortion in Mississippi? At what age can a teen get care without parental consent? What are the laws around minors and sex in Mississippi? Sex, Etc. has the answers in their Sex in the States info on your state.
Additional State Resources:
