Malta’s population climbs up by 3,960 in a year

Malta’s population at the end of 2014 stood at 429,344 people, an increase of 3,960 people in the space of a year.

The latest demographic review – published by the National Statistics Office – indicates a continuing upwards trend in Malta’s population, that has now increased by more than 23,728 people since 2006.

For the first time in recorded history, the number of males (214,735) on the island outweighed the number of females (214,609). Foreigners accounted for 6.4% (27,476) of the island’s total population.

Immigration to Malta outweighed emigration by 2,589 people. An estimated 8,946 people immigrated to Malta in 2014, out of which 49.6% were EU nationals, 29.9% third-country nationals, and 20.5% returning Maltese migrants.

Nearly two-thirds of immigrants were males, the majority of which were aged between 20 and 29.

5,907 people emigrated from Malta in the same year, out of which 21.6% were Maltese citizens, 51.9% were EU nationals and 26.5% third-country nationals. 61.7% of all emigrants were males, with the largest proportion again those aged between 20 and 29 years.

834 people obtained Maltese citizenship through naturalization or registration during 2014, more than a third of which were from EU countries with the largest proportion having British citizenship.

The Office of the Refugee Commission received 1,352 applications for asylum during 2014 – a decrease of 39.8% when compared to 2013. The vast majority (80.1%) of all applicants were males, while the largest proportion of applicants comprised males (51.3%) aged between 18 and 34 years.

African applicants made up 69.7% of the applications, while a further 26.9% were filed by Asian nationals.