Editing Demographics of Malta (section)

==Characteristics==

[[Malta]] is the most densely populated country in the EU and one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with about {{convert|1,265|/km2|/mi2|disp=preunit|inhabitants&nbsp;|inhabitants|}}. This compares with about 32 per square kilometre (85 per square mile) for the United States. A census (held every 10 years) was held in November 2005.

Inhabited since prehistoric times, Malta was first colonized by [[Sicily|Sicilians]]. Subsequently, [[Phoenicia]]ns, [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], [[Byzantine]]s, [[Arab]]s in 870 AD<ref>The Arabs in Malta / G. Wettinger. In: Malta: Studies of its Heritage and History / ed. Mid-Med Bank (Malta, 1986), pp. 87–104. {{cite web |url=http://www.xs4all.nl/~nizaar/The%20Arabs%20in%20Malta.html |title=The Arabs in Malta |access-date=2008-02-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050207175235/http://www.xs4all.nl/~nizaar/The%20Arabs%20in%20Malta.html |archive-date=7 February 2005}}</ref> who may have completely depopulated the islands<ref>Ibn Hauqal and Tenth-century Malta / A. Luttrell. In: Hyphen: A Journal of Melitensia and the Humanities. / (Malta 1987), pp 157–160 {{cite web |url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/The%20Arabs%20in%20Malta/198702.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-05-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225084603/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/The%20Arabs%20in%20Malta/198702.pdf |archive-date=25 December 2013}}</ref> but in 1224 were themselves expelled from Malta,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aboutmalta.com/history/time-Line.htm|title=AccountSupport|website=www.aboutmalta.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101133533/http://www.aboutmalta.com/history/time-Line.htm|archive-date=1 January 2016}}</ref> [[Normans]], [[Sicilians]], Spanish, French and the British have influenced Maltese life and culture to varying degrees.

Roman Catholicism is established by law as the religion of Malta with 98%; however, full liberty of conscience and freedom of worship is guaranteed, and a number of faiths have places of worship on the island (rather small groups, a combined total of 2% of the people are [[Protestant]]s, [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]], [[Muslims]] and [[Jews]]).

Malta has two official languages--[[Maltese language|Maltese]] (a Semitic language derived from [[Siculo-Arabic]] and heavily influenced by [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] and Italian), and English, which includes a local dialect, [[Maltese English]]. Both languages are compulsory subjects in Maltese primary and secondary schools. A large portion of the population is also fluent in Italian, which was, until 1936, the national language of Malta. The literacy rate has reached 93%, compared to 63% in 1946. Schooling is compulsory until age 16.

===Age distribution===
Since 2000, the shift in the age composition towards an older population continued to materialise. In fact, the average age of the Maltese population increased from 38.5 in 2005 to 40.5 in 2011. This resulted from the increase in the number of persons aged 55 and over, together with a decrease in the number of persons under 25 years of age. The average in Gozo and Comino (41.6 years) was higher than that observed for Malta.
Persons aged 65 and over more represent 16.3% of the total population in 2011, compared to 13.7% in 2005. In contrast, persons aged 14 and under make up 14.8% of the population in 2011, compared to 17.2% in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://census2011.gov.mt/downloads/Census2011_PreliminaryReport.pdf|title=Census 2011 Preliminary Report|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111221856/http://census2011.gov.mt/downloads/Census2011_PreliminaryReport.pdf|archive-date=11 January 2014}}</ref>

=== Migrant background and foreign nationality ===
'''Foreign nationals in Malta'''

As of 2016 and 2017, the numbers of selected groups of resident foreign nationals (non-naturalized residents) in Malta were as follows:

This list does not include foreign nationals who acquired Maltese nationality and foreign nationals without resident status.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Rank
!Nationality
!Population (2016)<ref name="Libyans">{{cite web |url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/82621/libyans_top_list_of_noneu_nationals_in_malta_ |title=Libyans|access-date=2017-12-06 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206213850/http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/82621/libyans_top_list_of_noneu_nationals_in_malta_ |archive-date=6 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="Filipinos, Serbs">{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2016-10-12/local-news/Filipinos-Serbs-top-list-of-third-country-nationals-working-in-Malta-6736165113 |title=Filipinos, Serbs|access-date=2017-12-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030004421/http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2016-10-12/local-news/Filipinos-Serbs-top-list-of-third-country-nationals-working-in-Malta-6736165113 |archive-date=30 October 2017}}</ref>
!Population (2017)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/82621/libyans_top_list_of_noneu_nationals_in_malta_ |title=Libyans |access-date=2017-12-06 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206213850/http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/82621/libyans_top_list_of_noneu_nationals_in_malta_ |archive-date=6 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="Filipinos, Serbs"/>
|-
|
|Total
|30,000+
|
|-
|
|{{Flagicon|European Union}} [[Citizenship of the European Union|EU nationals]]
|22,000+
|
|-
|1
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Italy}} [[Italy]]
|5,180 
|
|-
|2
|{{Flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]]
|3,985
|
|-
|3
|{{Flagicon|Libya}} [[Libya]]
|
|3,622
|-
|4
|{{Flagicon|Serbia}} [[Serbia]]
|
|2,757
|-
|5
|{{Flagicon|Philippines}} [[Philippines]]
|
|2,407
|-
|6
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Bulgaria]]
|2,044
|
|-
|7
|{{Flagicon|Russia}} [[Russia]]
|
|2,027
|-
|8
|{{Flagicon|Somalia}} [[Somalia]]
|
|1,845
|-
|9
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Hungary}} [[Hungary]]
|1,308
|
|-
|10
|{{Flagicon|Syria}} [[Syria]]
|
|1,289
|-
|11
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Romania}} [[Romania]]
|1,262 
|
|-
|12
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Spain}} [[Spain]]
|1,119 
|
|-
|13
|{{Flagicon|China}} [[China]]
|
|1,090 
|-
|14
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Sweden}} [[Sweden]]
|1,085
|
|-
|15
|{{Flagicon|Eritrea}} [[Eritrea]]
|
|1,057 
|-
|16
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Germany}} [[Germany]]
|991
|
|-
|17
|{{Flagicon|Ukraine}} [[Ukraine]]
|
|896
|-
|18
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|France}} [[France]]
|879 
|
|-
|19
|{{Flagicon|India}} [[India]]
|
|819
|-
|20
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Poland}} [[Poland]]
|719 
|
|-
|21
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Netherlands]]
|466
|
|-
|22
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Greece}} [[Greece]]
|379 
|
|-
|23 
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Slovakia}} [[Slovakia]]
|338 
|
|-
|24
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Austria}} [[Austria]]
|332 
|
|-
|25
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Finland}} [[Finland]]
|321 
|
|-
|26
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Portugal}} [[Portugal]]
|297 
|
|-
|27 
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Czech Republic}} [[Czech Republic]]
|296 
|
|-
|28 
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Ireland}} [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
|281 
|
|-
|29 
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Latvia}} [[Latvia]]
|276 
|
|-
|30
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Lithuania}} [[Lithuania]]
|213 
|
|-
|31
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Denmark}} [[Denmark]]
|204 
|
|-
|32
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Belgium}} [[Belgium]]
|188 
|
|-
|33
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Estonia}} [[Estonia]]
|120 
|
|-
|34
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Slovenia}} [[Slovenia]]
|106 
|
|-
|35
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{Flagicon|Croatia}} [[Croatia]]
|100
|
|-
|
|Other non-EU nationals
|400+
|
|}

=== Emigration ===
[[File:Malta -mix- 2019 by-RaBoe 067.jpg|thumb|Child Migrants' Memorial at the [[Valletta Waterfront]], commemorating the 310 Maltese child migrants who travelled to Australia between 1950 and 1965.]]
{{main|Emigration from Malta}}

Malta has long been a country of emigration, with big Maltese communities in English-speaking countries abroad.
Mass emigration picked up in the 19th century, reaching its peak in the decades after World War II.

In the nineteenth century, most migration from Malta was to [[North Africa]] and the [[Middle East]] (particularly [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]] and [[Egypt]]), although rates of [[Repatriation|return migration]] to Malta were high.<ref name="Jones">{{cite journal|title=Modern emigration from Malta|first=Huw R.|last=Jones|year=1973|journal=Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers|volume=60|issue=60|pages=101–119|doi=10.2307/621508|jstor=621508}}</ref> Nonetheless, Maltese communities formed in these regions. By 1900, for example, British consular estimates suggest that there were 15,326 Maltese in [[Tunisia]].<ref name="Attard">{{cite book|title=The Great Exodus (1918–1939)|first=Lawrence E.|last=Attard|year=1989|location=Malta|publisher=Publishers Enterprises Group|url=http://www.maltamigration.com/history/exodus/chapter3-4.shtml?s=4E1675C4-7F000001-7DA803104013-6891|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406130103/http://www.maltamigration.com/history/exodus/chapter3-4.shtml?s=4E1675C4-7F000001-7DA803104013-6891|archive-date=6 April 2011}}</ref>
There is little trace left of the Maltese communities in North Africa, most of them having been displaced, after the rise of independence movements, to places like [[Marseille]], the United Kingdom or Australia.

After World War II, Malta's Emigration Department would assist emigrants with the cost of their travel. Between 1948 and 1967, 30 per cent of the population emigrated.<ref name=Jones/> Between 1946 and the late 1970s, over 140,000 people left Malta on the assisted passage scheme, with 57.6 per cent migrating to Australia, 22 per cent to the UK, 13 per cent to Canada and 7 per cent to the United States.<ref name="King">{{cite journal|title=The Maltese migration cycle: An archival survey|first=Russell|last=King|year=1979|journal=Area|volume=11|issue=3|pages=245–249|jstor=20001477}}</ref> (See also [[Maltese Australians]]; [[Maltese people in the United Kingdom]])

46,998 Maltese-born residents were recorded by the 2001 [[Census in Australia|Australian Census]], 30,178 by the [[2001 UK Census]], 9,525 by the [[Canada 2001 Census|2001 Canadian Census]] and 9,080 by the [[2000 United States Census]].<ref name="OECD">{{cite web|url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls |title=Country-of-birth database |publisher=[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] |access-date=3 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617032129/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls |archive-date=17 June 2009 }}</ref>

Emigration dropped dramatically after the mid-1970s and has since ceased to be a social phenomenon of significance. However, since Malta joined the [[European Union|EU]] in 2004 [[expatriate]] communities emerged in a number of European countries particularly in Belgium and Luxembourg. At the same time, Malta is becoming more and more attractive for communities of immigrants, both from Western and Northern Europe (Italians, British) and from Eastern Europe (Serbians).

=== Immigration ===
{| class="toc" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"  style="width:25%; float:right; text-align:center; clear:all; margin-left:8px; font-size:90%;"
|-
! colspan="20" style="background:green; color:white;"|Foreign population in Malta<ref name="Libyans"/>
|- style="background:#efefef;"
!width=15% |Year
!width=60% |Population
!width=25% |% total
|-
|2005 ||align=center|12,112||align=right|3.0%
|-
|2011 ||align=center|20,289||align=right|4.9%
|-
|2021 ||align=center|115,449||align=right|22.2%
|}

{{main|Immigration to Malta}}

Most of the foreign community in Malta, predominantly active or retired British nationals and their dependents, is centred on [[Sliema]] and surrounding modern suburbs. Other smaller foreign groups include Italians, French, and [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]], many of whom have assimilated into the Maltese nation over the decades.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20070805/opinion/genetic-origin-of-contemporary-maltese|title=Genetic origin of contemporary Maltese|first=Allied Newspapers|last=Ltd|date=5 August 2007 }}</ref>

Since the late 20th century, Malta has become a transit country for migration routes from Africa towards Europe.<ref>{{cite news|title=Malta guards Europe's gates against African immigrants|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-oct-09-la-fg-malta-refugees-20101009-story.html|access-date=30 April 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310075319/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/09/world/la-fg-malta-refugees-20101009|archive-date=10 March 2012}}</ref>
As a member of the [[European Union]] and of the [[Schengen agreement]], Malta is bound by the [[Dublin Regulation]] to process all claims for asylum by those asylum seekers that enter EU territory for the first time in Malta.<ref>{{cite news|title= Maltese Anger Mounts Over Rising Illegal Immigration|work=[[Deutsche Welle]]|url=http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,3621641,00.html|access-date=30 April 2012}}</ref>

Irregular migrants (formal [[Maltese language|Maltese]]: ''immigranti irregolari'', informal: ''klandestini'') who land in Malta are subject to a [[immigration detention|compulsory detention policy]], being held in several camps organised by the [[Armed Forces of Malta]] (AFM), including those near [[Ħal Far]] and [[Safi, Malta|Ħal Safi]]. The compulsory detention policy has been denounced by several NGOs, and in July 2010, the [[European Court of Human Rights]] found that Malta's detention of migrants was arbitrary, lacking in adequate procedures to challenge detention, and in breach of its obligations under the [[European Convention on Human Rights]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/07/18/malta-migrant-detention-violates-rights|title=Malta: Migrant Detention Violates Rights|date=18 July 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314162400/https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/07/18/malta-migrant-detention-violates-rights|archive-date=14 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Malta faces problems with children of illegal immigrants|work=[[Times of Malta]]|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080610/local/malta-faces-problems-with-children-of-illegal-immigrants.211803|access-date=30 April 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510111154/http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080610/local/malta-faces-problems-with-children-of-illegal-immigrants.211803|archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref>

Very few migrants arrived in Malta in 2015, despite the fact that the rest Europe was experiencing a [[European migrant crisis|migrant crisis]]. Most migrants who were rescued between Libya and Malta were taken to Italy, and some refused to be brought to Malta.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rescued migrants refusing to be brought to Malta|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150926/local/rescued-migrants-refusing-to-be-brought-to-malta.585856|access-date=26 September 2015|work=[[Times of Malta]]|date=26 September 2015}}</ref>

=== Net Migration ===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Net migration for Malta (2012–present)<ref>{{cite web |title=Population and Migration Statistics |url=https://nso.gov.mt/population/ |website=National Statistics Office Malta |access-date=27 April 2025}}</ref>
|-
! Year !! Immigration !! Emigration !! Net migration
|-
| 2012 || 9,152 || 5,946 || 3,206
|-
| 2013 || 12,446 || 6,550 || 5,896
|-
| 2014 || 15,928 || 6,200 || 9,728
|-
| 2015 || 18,202 || 8,225 || 9,977
|-
| 2016 || 18,116 || 9,510 || 8,606
|-
| 2017 || 22,750 || 8,036 || 14,714
|-
| 2018 || 27,394 || 10,019 || 17,375
|-
| 2019 || 29,304 || 8,079 || 21,225
|-
| 2020 || 14,751 || 13,804 || 947
|-
| 2021 || 16,963 || 13,146 || 3,817
|-
| 2022 || 34,964 || 13,116 || 21,848
|-
| 2023 || 42,239 || 29,279 || 12,960
|}