Malta resident population at 519,000, of which one in five is foreign

Malta’s final resident population stands at 519,562, having more than doubled over a century, growing by more than 100,000 over the past 10 years.

The National Statistics Office published the final report on its 2021 Census of Population and Housing, showing that for the first time ever, there were more males than females within the Maltese population.

Malta remains the most densely populated country in the EU with 1,649 residents per square kilometre. There were 270,021 men (52%) and 249,541 women in Malta, resulting in a sex ratio of 924 females per 1,000 males.

The average age of the population was 41.7 years, and Gozitan residents were slightly older than the Maltese with average ages of 43.8 years and 41.5 years respectively.

More than one in five residents were foreign, with 115,449 non-Maltese persons residing in Malta as of November 2021, an increase of more than five times in the share of foreigners since 2011.

Just less than 90% of residents were Caucasian, and a further 5.2% were Asian. A total of 6,101 persons (1.2) had more than one racial origin.

A total of 14,822 persons immigrated to Malta in the year prior to the Census – more than three times the figure reported in 2011. More than half of these immigrants were non-EU citizens, including British, and 4,765 were citizens from countries outside of Europe.

When asked about their religious affiliation, a total of 373,304 residents aged 15 and over (or 82.6%) identified themselves as Roman Catholic.

A total of 17,454 persons reported that they belong to Islam, followed by 16,457 persons who identified themselves with the Orthodox religion. Another 23,243 stated that they did not have any religious affiliation.