The highest abortion rate in the European Union is in Sweden, with a rate based on abortions per 1,000 women of child-bearing age of 18.3. The Irish figure is 7.8 per thousand.
According to figures compiled by the Council of Europe, Irish women have a higher abortion rate than Dutch women, but still have a lower rate than those in most EU member-states.
The most recent figures for abortions performed on women with Irish addresses indicate that these reached about 7,000 last year. As a proportion of Irish women of child - bearing age between 15 and 44 years of age - this translates into an abortion rate of 7.8 per thousand.
There were 22,413 abortions performed in the Netherlands in 1997, the last year for which figures are available for that country, representing a rate per 1,000 women of child-bearing age of 7.4.
The number of abortions in Austria, where they are available on demand, was even lower, with 2,414 performed there in 1999. That is about half the number performed that year on Irish women in Britain. The Council of Europe figures do not indicate the number of women between 15 and 44 in Austria that year; however, its population is just over eight million, more than twice that of Ireland.
Britain has the second-highest rate of abortion in the EU, at 15.7 per thousand, though this is increased by the number of women, including Irish, travelling there for an abortion. The British rate is closely followed by the Danish, at 15.5.
French women have an abortion rate of 12.9, followed by the Italians at 10, the Finns at 9.8 and the Germans at 8.0.
In the Council of Europe's report, the abortion rate is not given for all countries, and the figures are not for the same year for each country. However, other figures obtained from the council indicate that they have not fluctuated significantly over the past few years.
In most EU member-states, abortion is available at up to three months (12 weeks) gestation. The exceptions are Sweden, where it is available up to 18 weeks, and Britain and the Netherlands, where it is available up to 24 weeks.
The legal justifications for abortion vary from country to country. The permitted reasons include rape, social and medical problems; in Austria, Denmark, France, Greece and certain German states, abortion is available on demand.