Statistics show 57 people were murdered in the last 10 years

Over a 10-year period, a total of 57 persons were found murdered, with 2017 recording the highest number of homicides, data published by the National Statistics Office shows.

The data published on Friday showed that two-thirds of the victims were men while a third were women.

The years that saw the least number of homicides were 2021 and 2023 with two homicides during each year. In contrast, the highest registered number of homicides was seen in 2017, with nine murders during that year.

Almost half of all victims were aged between 25 and 44 (49.1%), while 19.3% were between 45 and 59 years of age. About one in every five victims were over the age of 59. Five of the 57 victims, or 8.8%, were under the age of 25

The Southern Harbor had the highest homicide rate during the 10-year review period with a rate of 1.6 per 100,00 persons. In the Western district, a rate of 0.8 homicides per 100,000 persons was recorded.

Almost 30% of the victims were murdered in the Northern Harbour district whilst 22.8% were killed in the Southern Harbour. The districts of Gozo and Comino registered 7% of the homicides .

The Northern and Southern Eastern districts recorded 17.5% and 14% of the homicides registered.

Two-thirds of homicide victims were Maltese, while one-third were foreign nationals. From 2014 to 2018, 75% of victims were Maltese, but this shifted to 56% in the 2019-2023 period.

The NSO recorded that 45.6% of the victims were killed with a sharp or blunt object, while 38.6% were killed with firearms or explosives. Additionally, 12.3% were killed without weapons and 3.5% had undetermined methods.

For male victims, 42.1% were allegedly killed by someone they knew, excluding intimate partners or family. In contrast, nearly half (47.4%) of female victims were killed by intimate partners, and just over one-fifth by family members.

The homicide rate for males was lowest during the 2019-2021 period, recorded at one male victim per 100,000 population. In contrast, the highest rate was observed during the 2016-2018 period, with 2.1 male victims per 100,000.

For female victims, the highest rate occurred during the 2017-2019 and 2018-2020 periods, with 1.1 female victims per 100,000 population with the lowest rate observed during 2020-2022 with a rate of 0.5 females per 100,000 population.

The homicide rate is calculated using a three-year average to provide a more stable and reliable measure of trends over time