Pregnancy terminations for women living in England and Wales last year were at their highest number since the Abortion Act was introduced, the Department of Health said.
The latest statistics show that of the 209,519 notified as having taken place in the two countries in 2019, 207,384 were for women resident in England and Wales.
The statistics, released by the department on Thursday, also show that the abortion rate for women over 35 has increased slightly, from 9.2 to 9.7 per 1,000 between 2018 and 2019.
Almost three quarters (74%) of abortions took place in the independent sector, but 99% were funded by the NHS, the department said.
The abortion rate last year was highest for women aged 22, up from aged 21 the previous year.
While the abortion rates for those under 18 have fallen over the past 10 years, last year’s rate remained the same as 2018 at 8.1 per 1,000.
Of the 2,135 abortions carried out on women living outside England and Wales, most women came from Northern Ireland (47.5%) and the Republic of Ireland (17.6%).
