The changing face of the Maltese population

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Journal of PopulationResearch ISSN 1443-2447Volume 27Number 4 J Pop Research (2010)27:315-322DOI 10.1007/s12546-010-9038-x

The changing face of the Maltesepopulation

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The changing face of the Maltese population

C. Savona-Ventura • N. Felice • R. A. Gullaimier

Published online: 19 September 2010

� Springer Science & Business Media B.V. 2010

Abstract In the last decade the Maltese population has seen an influx of overseas-

born individuals. This has been largely due to Malta’s access to the European Union

and the increased intake of refugee immigrants. These immigration trends have

resulted in changes in population composition, with the overseas-born population

increasing from 17,740 (4.7%) in 1995 to 24,560 (6.1%) in 2005. There has also

been an increase in the proportion of births registered in Malta to overseas citizens,

including citizens of non-EU Europe (1.1%); the African continent (1.5%); America

(0.3%); and Asia (0.8%). About ten per cent of marriages in Malta are between a

Maltese spouse and a foreigner. The data suggest that the Maltese population is

slowly becoming more cosmopolitan, a trend that is gradually changing the ethnic

composition of the Maltese community.

Keywords Demography � Malta � Obstetric � Migration

Introduction

The Maltese population is said to have ancient Carthaginian and Phoenician origins

with a strong later Greco-Roman and Arab influence. The last millennium has further

C. Savona-Ventura (&) � N. Felice � R. A. Gullaimier

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Malta Medical School, Msida, Malta

e-mail: [email protected]

N. Felice


R. A. Gullaimier


N. Felice � R. A. Gullaimier

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Mater Dei University Hospital, Msida, Malta

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J Pop Research (2010) 27:315–322

DOI 10.1007/s12546-010-9038-x

Author's personal copy

seen the assimilation of several European elements, namely Italian, Spanish and

Frenchwith traces of Anglo-Saxon and other minor communities coming fromBritish

Commonwealth countries (D’Avanzo 2008). Situated in the central Mediterranean,

the Maltese Archipelago is characterized by a small land area with a correspondingly

high population density. In the last century, the high population density has resulted in

a bias towards emigration rather than immigration. Thus, in spite of regular contact

with other circum-Mediterranean populations, the inflow of foreign influence on the

population structure has been relatively minimal. The situation has changed

somewhat in the last decade with Malta serving as a migrant base for North African

refugees, and the island’s entry to the European Union in 2004. This study reviews

demographic changes that have taken place in the last decade.

Data

The study reviews the demographic structure of the Maltese population as this

relates to nationality and ethnicity as identified in the published Census reports for

1995 and 2005 (COS 1997; NSO 2007), supplemented by annual demographic

reviews published by the National Statistics Office over the last five decades.

The enumerated population in the national census is exclusive of tourists, visitors

and temporary residents but includes persons of any nationality resident in Malta for

periods of 1 year or more. It also excludes foreign diplomatic personnel and their

families, but includes Maltese diplomatic personnel living overseas and other

Maltese who were temporarily abroad. Citizenship in Malta after 1989 can be

acquired by virtue of birth to or descent from a Maltese citizen or Maltese-born

parent; through adoption by Maltese citizens; through registration after providing

evidence of direct descent from a Malta-born ancestor; by naturalization after

5 years of legal residence in Malta; or through marriage to a Maltese citizen after

5 years of residence (MJHA 2010).

The published crude birth, death and migration statistics for the last 50 years were

further collated and analysed (NSO 1963–2010). In addition the national birth

statistics for the years 1999–2007 were reviewed. The latter data were obtained from

the National Obstetrics Information Service (NOIS) collected by the Department of

Health Information and Research of the Department of Health of the Maltese Islands

(DHIR 2000–2008). The NOIS database includes all births that occur in the Maltese

Islands irrespective of nationality or residency status. The database for 1999–2007

includes information on the nationality status of 35,825 maternities.

Results

The crude birth rate in Malta was relatively stable over the first half of the twentieth

century, at around 38 annual births per 1,000 population, but has declined steadily

since, reaching 10.2 births per 1,000 population in 2008. Births have always exceeded

deaths, resulting in consistent natural population growth (Fig. 1). The population has

increased from 184,742 in 1901, to 305,991 in 1948 and 404,962 in 2005.

316 C. Savona-Ventura et al.

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The natural population growth from a surplus of births over deaths has been

moderated by migration, particularly in the last 50 years. There has been a definite

bias towards outflow movements, with emigration being particularly marked from

the 1950s to the early 1970s. There was a significant rise in immigration from the

mid-1970s, attributed to the phenomenon of returning Maltese migrants and their

families. This influx had stabilized by the early 1990s (Fig. 2). Throughout the

period 1946–1996, a total of 155,060 persons migrated overseas, mainly to Australia

(86,787), Canada (19,792), the United Kingdom (31,489), and the United States of

America (11,601). Returning migrants during the same period amounted to 39,087.

Again, migrants mainly returned from Australia (17,847), Canada (4,798), the

United Kingdom (12,659), and the United States of America (2,580).

In the 1995 national census, the total registered Maltese population was 378,132

with 186,836 males and 191,296 females. A total of 360,392 (95.3%) had obtained

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Fig. 1 Crude birth and death rates—Maltese population

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Fig. 2 Migration trend patterns: Maltese population

The changing face of the Maltese population 317

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their citizenship by birth. A further 10,527 (2.8%) born overseas had acquired

Maltese citizenship by registration, naturalization, or marriage, with around half of

these holding dual nationality. The majority of the overseas-born population

(17,740: 4.7%) were from the United Kingdom (6,223: 35%), Australia (4,008:

23%), Canada (1,617: 9%), and the United States (971: 5%) (Table 1). More than

half the overseas-born population were in the main reproductive ages 15–44 years

(10,102: 57%), with the remainder evenly distributed between those aged under

15 years (3,462: 20%) and aged 45 years or more (4,176: 24%).

By 2005, the overseas born had increased to 24,560 (6.1%), showing a 1.4%

proportional increase from that registered in 1995. About half (12,681: 51.2%) of

these foreign-born individuals had acquired Maltese citizenship. The main

proportional increase was noted in European-born persons who during 2005

accounted for 3.5% of the population, in contrast to 2.2% the previous decade.

Immigrants born in the United States, Canada and Australia retained similar

proportional representation (1.7% in 1995 vs. 1.6% in 2005). There was a minimal

proportional increase in nationals from other countries (Table 1).

Besides individual and family group immigration, the overseas-born population

also increased through child adoptions from overseas. There were 497 adoptions

registered in Malta, 1997–2005, of which 352 were of children born outside Malta.

In the subsequent period 2006–2008, 224 children were adopted, of whom 177 were

born overseas. Adoption countries of origin in the intercensal period included

Romania (183), Pakistan (52), Ethiopia (49), and Russia (14). After 2005, the

majority of adoptions originated from Russia (96) and Ethiopia (50). There were no

adoptions from Romania and only eight children from Pakistan (Table 2).

Another inflow into the population in the last decade has been that of irregular

immigrants from Africa. During the four-year period 2002–2005, 5,398 people

Table 1 Maltese population by country of birth—Census years 1995 and 2005

Country of birth Census 1995 Census 2005

Total % Males Females Total % Males Females

Malta 3,60,392 95.3 1,78,470 1,81,922 3,80,402 93.9 1,88,920 1,91,482

UK 6,223 1.6 2,736 3,487 8,150 2.0 3,784 4,366

Italy 776 0.2 447 329 1,129 0.3 742 387

France 114 0.0 52 62 203 0.1 73 130

Germany 377 0.1 153 224 761 0.2 334 427

Other EU country 408 0.1 163 245 1,431 0.4 661 770

Other European 574 0.2 265 309 2,615 0.6 1,187 1,428

USA 971 0.3 446 525 1,099 0.3 552 547

Canada 1,617 0.4 798 819 1,525 0.4 723 802

Australia 4,008 1.1 1,926 2,082 3,893 1.0 1,760 2,133

Libya 508 0.1 274 234 769 0.2 505 264

Other country 2,164 0.6 1,106 1,058 2,985 0.7 1,578 1,407

Total 3,78,132 100.0 1,86,836 1,91,296 4,04,962 100.0 200,819 2,04,143


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entered the Islands as irregular immigrants. The subsequent three-year period

2006–2008 saw the arrival of 6,257 persons (Table 3).

The increasing diversity of citizenship status in Malta is reflected in its marriage

statistics. In 2008, there were 2,482 marriages, of which 1,554 (62.6%) involved

Maltese–Maltese spouses. A total of 122 (4.9%) marriages involved a Maltese

groom to a foreign bride, and 101 (4.1%) a Maltese bride to a foreign groom. The

remaining 28.4% of marriages involved both-foreign partners (Table 4).

Table 2 Adoptions by country of origin (no data published for 1996)

Country of origin 1997–2000 2001–2005 2006–2008 Total %

Europe

Malta 58 87 47 192 26.6

EU country 154 44 4 202 27.9

Other European 6 20 102 130 18.0

Africa

African—Maghreb 0 5 0 5 0.7

Sahel belt and horn of Africa 0 50 50 100 13.8

Equatorial and southern Africa 0 8 1 9 1.3

Americas

North America

Central America and Caribbean 0 1 2 3 0.4

South America 1 0 0 1 0.1

Asia

Western Asia 0 0 0 0 0

Central Asia 0 1 2 3 0.4

Eastern Asia 3 5 7 15 2.1

Southern Asia 21 31 9 61 8.4

Oceania

Oceania 0 0 0 0 0

Other

Total 245 252 224 721 100.0

Table 3 Irregular immigrant

arrivals (no data published for

1996–2001)

Year Irregular immigrant

arrivals

Applications filed

for granting refugee status

2002 1,686 350

2003 502 455

2004 1,388 995

2005 1,822 1,165

2006 1,780 1,261

2007 1,702 1,386

2008 2,775 2,608


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Births by citizenship of mother for the period 1999–2007 are set out in Table 5:

the vast majority of births are to women with Maltese citizenship (93.5%). Around

half of births to non-Maltese citizens are to citizens of other European countries

Table 4 Marriages by country of citizenship—2008

Bride citizenship Groom citizenship

Malta UK Other

EU

Other

European

America Africa Asia Oceania Unspecified

Malta 1,554 19 33 11 5 28 4 1 21

UK 11 421 9 3 1 1 0 1 2

Other EU 20 24 121 3 2 3 4 0 3

Other European 51 2 4 6 0 0 0 1 0

America 3 1 4 0 11 0 0 0 0

Africa 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Asia 17 2 1 0 1 0 12 0 1

Oceania 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 7 0

Unspecified 21 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 17

Table 5 Births by citizenship

of motherRegistered citizenship Maternities 1999–2007

Maternities %

Europe

Malta 33,489 93.5

EU country 716 2.0

Other European 403 1.1

Africa

African—Maghreb 380 1.16

Sahel belt and horn of Africa 139 0.4

Equatorial and southern Africa 31 0.1

Americas

North America 68 0.2

Central America and Caribbean 16 0.0

South America 17 0.0

Asia

Western Asia 70 0.2

Central Asia 5 0.0

Eastern Asia 173 0.5

Southern Asia 32 0.1

Oceania

Oceania 93 0.3

Other

Stateless/unregistered 193 0.5

Total 35,825 100.0


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(3.1%), with the remainder to mothers from Africa (1.5%), the Americas (0.3%),

Asia (0.8%), and Oceania (0.3%).

Discussion

The last century of Maltese population flows has been characterized by strong

outmigration, with higher levels of immigration only since the 1970s.

Early in the twentieth century, the Maltese government promoted an emigration

drive. During the period 1911–1921, 11,860 males emigrated to the United States,

Canada and Australia. A marked impetus was made in the post-WorldWar II period by

the administration to implement an extensive emigration policy to deal with the

problems of unemployment. This population outflow generally involved younger

people, thus affecting the Islands’ demographic structure as far as population growth and

age structure were concerned. During the period 1948–1957, 63,000 persons emigrated

overseas. These government-sponsored emigration drives continued through to the

1960s. Immigration during this period was minimal, and often restricted to returning

migrants (Savona-Ventura 2003).

Since the mid-1970s, a new demographic phenomenon has occurred when a

significant influx of returning migrants was registered (COS 1986). The emigration

and immigration rates slowly decreased throughout the 1980s and 1990s, so that in

1995 only 107 Maltese proceeded overseas and 621 returned to the Maltese Islands.

The larger proportion of this migration was directed to and from the traditional

migrant-targeted countries including Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and the

United States; only 15 emigrants and 45 returning migrants came from other

countries (COS 1996). While the migration movement of the early twentieth century

had significant effects on the demographic structure of the Maltese population, it

had a minimal effect on the overall ethnic composition since this movement

generally involved Maltese-born persons.

The recent past has seen a shift in migration patterns so that the Maltese

population is now registering a significant increase in individuals born overseas. The

census analysis for 1995 had shown that overseas-born residents amounted to 4.7%,

of whom about 72% were born in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada or the

United States. Many of these were probably children or spouses of returning

Maltese migrants. The exact proportion of these individuals representing persons of

Maltese descent cannot be identified from the published Census data.

In the subsequent decade, the proportion of overseas-born residents in the

Maltese population rose to 6.1% with 61% of these being born in the traditional

Maltese emigrant countries. European countries accounted for 13% of overseas-

born residents in 1995 and 26% in 2005. This rise in the European-born element of

the Maltese population can be in part attributed to the Freedom of Movement Act

that followed the entry of the Maltese Islands to the European Union in 2004. The

intercensal period had seen a rise in the number of overseas-born individuals

coming from other countries, notably from the African and Asian continents.

In the last decade there has been a greater influx of overseas-born migrants from

countries encompassing the five continents. A good proportion of these have


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assumed resident status, contributing towards a more cosmopolitan society. These

overseas-born residents will contribute to the welcome introduction of diversity in

the ethnic composition of a previously relatively closed island population.

References

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Central Office of Statistics (COS). (1996). Demographic review of the Maltese Islands 1995. Valetta.Central Office of Statistics (COS). (1997). Census of population and housing, Malta 1995 Vol. 1:

Population, age, gender and citizenship. Valetta.D’Avanzo, C. E. (2008). Cultural health assessment (4th Ed.). Missouri, USA: Mosby Elservier.

Department of Health Information and Research (DHIR). (2000–2008). National obstetric informationservice. Valetta. Available at http://sahha.gov.mt/pages.aspx?page=92—detailed data obtained on

request.

Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs (MJHA). (2010). Maltese Citizenship Act. Chapter 188. Laws of

Malta. Valetta. Available at http://docs.justice.gov.mt/lom/legislation/english/leg/vol_4/chapt188.

pdf.

National Statistics Office (NSO). (1963–2010). Demographic review of the Maltese Islands for 1961–2008. Valetta.

National Statistics Office (NSO). (2007). Census of population and housing—2005 Vol. 1: Population.Valetta.

Savona-Ventura, C. (2003). The history of maternity care in the Maltese Islands. Valetta: Association for

the Study of Maltese Medical History.


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