61% of foreigners in Malta are males - NSO

An analysis of population statistics released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Monday reveals significant differences in the age and gender composition of Maltese and foreign residents as of the end of 2023.

While the gender distribution among Maltese residents is nearly balanced, with 49.8% males and 50.2% females, the foreign population shows a stark contrast, with 61.1% males and 38.9% females. The foreign population is also considerably younger, with a median age of 32 years compared to 43 years among Maltese residents.

This also suggests that the average age of foreigners has decreased from 34.9 in the census carried out in 2021 to 32.  Moreover compared to 2021 the percentage of malese among the foreign population has increased from 59.3% to 61.1%.

These demographic differences are further underscored by the old-age dependency ratio, which measures the number of people aged 65 or older per 100 working-age individuals (aged 20 to 64).

This ratio indicates the level of economic pressure on the working-age population to support the elderly.

For the Maltese population, the old-age dependency ratio has been rising steadily since 2012, increasing from 28.2 to 41.8 in 2023.

This reflects an aging Maltese population with a growing number of elderly dependents. In contrast, the foreign population’s ratio has been declining, dropping from 17.0 in 2012 to just 4.4 in 2023.

This significant decline reflects the relatively younger age structure of the foreign community, which includes fewer elderly dependents.

The overall dependency ratio for the total population has remained relatively stable since 2012. This is likely due to the contrasting trends between the aging Maltese population and the younger foreign cohort.

As of 2023, the foreign population in Malta numbered 158,368, making up 28.1% of the total population.

Between 2022 and 2023, the foreign population grew by 15.3%, while the Maltese population saw a minimal increase of just 0.1%, rising from 404,675 to 405,075.