Every year, of the 55.7 million abortions that take place worldwide, 25.5 million are unsafe according to a new study published in The Lancet. This means that nearly half of all abortions are unsafe, with the vast majority of these (97%, 24 million) taking place in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Globally, approximately 55% of all abortions (30.6 million each year between 2010 and 2014) were safe, meaning they were done via a WHO recommended method and provided or supported by a trained individual.

An estimated 30.7% of all abortions (17.1 million) were classified as less safe — for instance if the abortion was done by a trained provider but with an outdated method (e.g. sharp curettage), or if the abortion was done with a safe method (e.g. misoprostol) but without the support of a trained person. An estimated 14.4% of all abortions (8 million) were classified as least safe if they were provided by untrained individual using dangerous or invasive methods (e.g. ingestion of caustic substances, insertion of foreign bodies or use of traditional concoctions).