Almost 14% of the prison population is made up of inmates who had relapsed, the highest rate since 2015, official figures released this week show.

The prison population at the Corradino facility last year stood at 606.

Data tabled in Parliament by Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia in reply to a question by Nationalist MP Ivan Bartolo shows that, last year, 84 of the 606 prisoners serving time at Corradino Correctional Facility had relapsed.

This was the highest since 2015, when 13% of the 527 prisoners there were relapsers.

The figure was even lower in 2016, when 12% of the 575 inmates had already served time in the past.

According to an annual crime report published earlier in the year, the number of inmates at the prison is the highest since 2012, when the prison population exceeded the 600 mark.

Times of Malta reported earlier this year that the number of women at the crowded facility had also been the highest in several years, rising to 58 in 2007 from 37 the previous year.

The highest rate since 2015

No data was available on how many of the female inmates were repeat offenders.

According to the most recent prison data, since 2010, the majority of non-Maltese inmates hailed from Somalia and Libya.

A significant number were from Italy and also Romanians were serving time at the Paola prison in recent years.