A total of 2,792 abortions were carried out in Northern Ireland in the last year, the Department of Health has confirmed.
Abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in October 2019, with legislation passed in March 2020.
The department’s latest update show numbers are close to doubling from 1,574 in 2020/21 to the 2023/24 total of 2,792.
The total in 2021/22 was 1,757 and 2,168 in 2022/23.
Other details show that abortions for women under 18 increased from 46 in 2020/21 to 72 in 2023/24.
In the same time period for those aged 18-34, the figure increased from 1,149 to 2,118.
For women aged 35 and over, a total of 362 abortions were carried out in 2020/21 compared to 567 in 2023/24.
Earlier this month, researchers from the University of Edinburgh found a “significant increase” in the proportion of women seeking abortions who are using natural methods to prevent pregnancy, such as tracking periods on smartphone apps.
Analysis found those who reported using no contraception at all when they fell pregnant also increased by 14% between 2018 and 2023.
An apparent shift over the last five years saw less use of “more reliable” hormonal contraceptives like the pill to “fertility awareness-based methods”.
The study said these methods were “less reliable,” and had the potential to “increase unintended pregnancies”.
It was also suggested that “hormone hesitancy (was) attributed to the influence of social media has been reported in other European countries”.
While further research was needed, the researchers warned: “The decline in use of effective contraception and increase in abortion rates have wider implications for healthcare services.”
