The number of babies born to “unknown fathers” shot up to almost 20% of births in 2007, pointing towards a startling 107% increase in fatherless children – and yet the increase, which is double that of 2006, proves to be rather baffling.
Figures released by minister Austin Gatt in parliament from the public registry claim there were 735 newborn registered with an “unknown father” in 2007.
The increase alone is double that of 2006, where 355 birth certificates were issued with unknown fathers.

However the doubling of fatherless children is in itself an explosion from previous years. In 2005, the number was 278, just 7.5% of total live births who were issued a birth certificate with an “unknown father”. Then in 2006, that figure increased to 355 (9.2%).
Only in 2007 however the figure exploded to 735 – almost one in every five newborn registered in that year with no father.
On its own the scenario points to an ever-growing army of children without fathers.
And yet, the figures contrast greatly with NSO statistics for 2007, which point to a different picture.
The NSO has figures of the number of births, broken down according to their parents’ ages.
In this breakdown, the number of newborn whose father’s ages was “unknown” and born out of wedlock was 353.
That means that the public registry could well have an extra 382 children with unknown dads registered on their birth certificates.
So how to explain the discrepancy?
The figures may mean that the mother of the child declared an “unknown father” when registering the birth of her child as way of becoming eligible for social benefits for single mothers.
Even the radical jump in fatherless children between 2006 and 2007 gives room to speculate how such a doubling of so called “unknown fathers” could have occurred in a single year.
The NSO statistics also show that the number of births outside marriage increased from 866 in 2006, to 963 in 2007 – an increase of 2.5%.
If the ministry’s registry figures are correct, the percentage of children born out of wedlock which were registered as having an “unknown father” shot up from 41% in 2006 to 76% in 2007.
Back in February, replying to another parliamentary question, former Social Policy Minister Dolores Cristina revealed that the number of single mothers receiving social assistance amounted to 2,160.

jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt