Maltese women had 78 abortions in the UK last year, figures issued by the Department of Health in Britain show, marking a steep rise from 38 in 2008.

Earlier in the year, the National Statistics Office said an annual average of 57 abortions was carried out on Maltese women in England and Wales in the past 10 years.

The highest number, 69, dates back to 2002 and 2007, while the figure dropped to 38 in 2008 - the lowest since at least 1990. No figures exist for abortions on Maltese women carried out in other countries, the NSO said.

In total, 6,643 abortions were performed on non-residents in the UK, its Health Department figures showed, while the total number of abortions for England and Wales was 189,100, compared with 195,296 in 2008.

The abortion rate was 17.5 per 1,000 resident women between 15 and 44, compared with 18.2 in 2008. It was highest at 33 per 1,000 women aged 19, 20 and 21, again lower than 2008.

The under-16 abortion rate was four per 1,000 women and 17.6 for under 18-year-olds, both lower than in 2008.

Most abortions - 94 per cent - were funded by the NHS; of these, 60 per cent took place in the independent sector under NHS contract.

The Health Department figures show that 91 per cent of abortions in the UK were carried out at under 13 weeks of gestation and 75 per cent at under 10.