Malta has a low suicide rate but, unlike other European countries, there was an increase in the number of people ending their lives since the 1980s, according to research.

The study, published in the Malta Medical Journal, notes that Malta is the only European country where the highest suicide rates were recorded in the 2000s.

“In Malta, the suicide rates of males and females were 70 and nine times higher during... 2005-2009 than they were in 1980-1984,” according to the study.

This meant that, in the case of Malta, suicide rates increased in the 1980s but, unlike several other European countries, it did not experience a decline during the 1990s and 2000s.

Read more on Times of Malta.