Msida, St Paul’s Bay with more foreign residents than Maltese

Msida and St Paul’s Bay officially had more foreign residents than Maltese by the end of 2019, figures obtained from the National Statistics Office show.

The latest available statistics reveal how 54.1% of people living in Msida by December 2019 were foreigners, up by almost six points over the previous year.

In St Paul’s Bay, 53.1% of residents were foreigners, up by almost five points on 2018.

This is the first time that foreign residents surpassed Maltese nationals in any locality, an indication of the shifting demography of the past few years.

By the end of 2019, there were just over 100,000 foreigners residing in Malta, making up 20% of the population, an increase of three points on the previous year. The figures pre-date the COVID-19 pandemic that prompted some foreigners to go back to their country.

A breakdown of statistics by locality shows that the bulk of foreigners lived in the localities bordering Marsamxett Harbour and towns in the north of Malta.

Gżira had the third highest ratio of foreign residents with the population split right down the middle between Maltese and foreigners. Gżira’s foreign population ratio increased by almost five points between 2018 and 2019.

Sliema and St Julian’s came in fourth and fifth respectively. Foreigners made up 43.3% of Sliema’s population, while the ratio for St Julian’s stood at 42.2%.

These localities in the northern regions retained the same top five spots they occupied in 2018 in terms of the foreign population ratio.

Birżebbuġa, where foreign residents made up 38% of the locality’s population, was the only locality from the southern regions to make the top 10 rankings. The town includes a large migrant open centre on its outskirts in Ħal Far, which contributes to the foreign population.

Ta’ Xbiex, Swieqi, Pieta and Mellieħa completed the top 10 list. The ratio of foreign residents ranged from 29.7% in Mellieħa to 33.3% in Ta’ Xbiex.

The top 10 localities accounted for 63% of all foreigners living in Malta by the end of 2019.

Highest year-on-year increase

Żebbuġ, Munxar and San Lawrenz were the Gozitan localities with the highest ratios of foreign residents with 28.3%, 22.7% and 20.1% respectively.

Żebbuġ was also the locality across both islands that experienced the highest year-on-year increase in foreign residents as a ratio of the population with an eight-point hike.

On the flip side, Dingli, Mtarfa, Santa Luċija and Mqabba, occupied the bottom of the list with foreign residents in each of these localities making up less than three per cent of their respective populations.

The 10 localities with the smallest ratios of foreign residents were in the southern and western regions.

According to information tabled in parliament last February by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, the majority of EU and EEA nationals residing in Malta are employed as clerks and support workers, while a large number of third country nationals work in elementary occupations.