Last Updated on Friday, 26 January, 2024 at 11:23 am by Andre Camilleri
The population of Malta grew from 421,464 in 2012 to 542,051 in 2022. This equates to a 28.6 per cent growth in the population over the period, the NSO said in a statement Friday.
Population
The resident population of Malta grew from 421,464 in 2012 to 542,051 in 2022. This equates to a 28.6 per cent growth in the population over the period. The increase in the population size was attributed primarily to the growth in the foreign population. While the Maltese population only grew by 1.7 per cent from 398,099 to 404,675, the foreign population grew five-fold, rising from 23,365 in 2012 to 137,376 in 2022.
While the median population age in 2022 has remained at par with 2012, at 39 years, the share of children and older persons in the population has shifted. In 2012, the share of the population aged 65 and over stood at 17.1 per cent, this increased to 18.6 per cent in 2022. On the other hand, the share of children aged 14 or under decreased, from 14.6 per cent in 2012 to 12.7 per cent in 2022. In 2012, females slightly outnumbered males at 50.2 per cent compared to 49.8 per cent. In 2022, this pattern was reversed with males outnumbering females at 52.5 per cent compared to 47.5 per cent.
Migration
Between 2012 and 2022 Malta experienced a total net migration (immigrants less emigrants) of 117,259 persons. The largest share of net migrants was seen in 2022, at 21,798, followed closely by 2019, with 21,225 net migrants. On the other hand, 2020 had the smallest net migration over the period, at 947 net migrants.The share of the foreign population increased from 5.5 per cent in 2012, to 25.3 per cent in 2022. In 2022, 69 per cent of the foreign population were non-EU citizens, while the remaining 31 per cent were EU citizens. It is important to note that as of 2020, the non-EU group includes citizens of the United Kingdom.
Geographical distribution
The Northern Harbour district remained the district with the greatest resident population. In 2022, 31.1 per cent of the total population were residents of this district. On the other hand, Gozo and Comino remained the district with the smallest resident population, with only 7.4 per cent of the total population resident in this district in 2022.
Mdina remained the locality with the smallest population in 2022, with only 202 residents. While in 2012 Birkirkara was the locality with the largest population at 21,676 residents, in 2022 San Pawl il-Baħar overtook Birkirkara as the locality with the largest population at 35,419 residents, with the population in this locality more than doubling when compared to 2012. The share of resident foreigners increased within all localities when comparing 2022 to 2012. L-Imsida was the locality with the greatest share of foreign residents in 2022, equal to 59.1 percent of the resident population in this locality. This was followed by San Pawl il-Baħar at 58.1 per cent. On the other hand, Ħad-Dingli was the locality with the lowest share of foreigners at 2.7 per cent of the resident population.
The growth in the population between 2012 and 2022 has resulted in an increase in population density. The population density for the Maltese Islands in 2012 stood at 1,337 resident population per km2, this increased to 1,721 per km2 in 2022. At the district level, the Northern Harbour district was the most densely populated district in 2022, at 7,019 resident population per km2. Conversely, Gozo and Comino was the least densely populated district at 585 resident population per km2. When considering individual localities, Għasri remained the least densely populated locality in Malta and Gozo, with a population density of 103 resident population per km2 in 2022. While in 2012 Senglea was the most densely populated locality, at 16,424 resident population per km2, in 2022 Tas-Sliema became the most densely populated locality at 16,287 resident population per km2.
Fertility and mortality indicators
The crude death rate has remained relatively stable between 2012 and 2022, with on average, 8 resident deaths annually per 1,000 resident mid-year population. On the other hand, the crude birth rate has experienced a general decline, from approximately 10 resident live births per 1,000 resident mid-year population in 2012, to 8 resident live births per 1,000 resident mid-year population in 2022.
As with the crude birth rate, the total fertility rate has also declined over the period. In 2012, the total fertility rate stood at 1.43, this fell to 1.08 in 2022. This decline is partly attributed to the fact that while the number of annual resident live births has remained relatively stable over the period, the number of females of reproductive age in the population has increased.
Life expectancy has generally improved over the period. Total life expectancy at birth increased from 80.9 in 2012 to 82.3 years in 2022, while the total life expectancy at age 65 increased from 19.4 years in 2012 to 20.5 years in 2022. Females continue to have better life expectancy at birth and at age 65 when compared to males, though the gap has slightly narrowed when comparing 2012 to 2022.
