Non-EU nationals plant roots in Sliema and Msida

Foreign residents from outside the European Union account for one in every five people living in Msida and Sliema.

The towns of Msida, Sliema, Gzira and St Paul’s Bay have the highest percentage of their population composed of non-EU nationals, according to an analysis of statistics presented in the House in reply to a question by MP Claudio Grech.

Statistics show that 15% (2,964) of the 19,317 non-EU nationals living Malta, live in Sliema alone, where they account for 19.9% of the population of this town.

Msida, where 1,724 foreign nationals live, boasts the highest number of foreign nationals as a percentage of the town’s population – 20.2%.

The third highest concentration of foreign nationals is found in Gzira, where 1,197 foreign nationals live, accounting for 16% of its total population.

With the exception of St Paul’s Bay, most foreign nationals live in the ninth and tenth electoral districts. In fact 9,932 foreign nationals live in Pieta, Gzira, Msida, San Gwann, Ta’ Xbiex, Swieqi and St Julian’s. 51% of all foreign nationals live in these localities.

Santa Lucia, a southern locality where a large segment of the population lives in housing estates established in the 1950s, has the lowest percentage of foreigners. Only three foreign non-EU residents live in this working-class town.

The southern towns with the highest percentage of non-EU residents are Birzebbugia and Marsaskala. Birzebbugia hosts 679 foreigners, who account for 6% of the total population, while Marsaskala hosts 547 foreigners who account for 5% of the population.

The percentage of non-EU residents in each locality is based on the number of non-EU residents at the end of 2015 and the population of each town and village at the end of 2014 as published in the latest demographic review issued by the National Office of Statistics.  

The discrepancy of a year between the latest population figures for each locality and the statistics presented in parliament means that the percentages as presented in this article do not account for any changes in population between the end of 2014 and the end of 2015.

Libyans account for 20% of non-EU nationals

19,317 persons hailing from countries from outside the European Union have a residence permit to live in Malta, of whom 4,377 benefit from international protection.

In total, the 3,507 Libyans in Malta account for 18% of all non-EU residents in Malta. These are followed by 1,824 Serbs (9.4%), 1,621 Filipinos (8.4%) and 1,617 Russians (8.4%).

The official statistics also refer to 1,172 people hailing from Somalia and 632 people from Eritrea. Together, these last two countries account for most asylum seekers – who are in Malta seeking international protection – but represent less than 10% of all non-EU nationals living in Malta.

A total of 3,127 foreign residents hail from sub-Saharan Africa. 

These represent 16.2% of the total number of non-EU residents in Malta.