Compulsory education students stood at 60,197 during 2023–2024 academic year

 The number of students enrolled in pre-primary, primary and secondary education in Malta rose to 60,197 in the 2023–2024 academic year, an increase of 1.2% over the previous year.

Data published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed boys made up 51.8% of all students, while 45.5% of total enrolments were aged between five and ten. Another 38.1% were aged between 11 and 15.

State-run schools accounted for 59.6% of all registrations, church schools for 26.7% and independent schools for 13.7%.

There were 50,645 students in compulsory education, with 54.4% attending primary school and 45.6% attending secondary school. Compared with the previous academic year, the number of students increased by 0.7% in primary schools and 2.3% in secondary schools.

Average class size stood at 18.6 students at the primary level and 19.2 at the secondary level. State schools recorded the smallest average class sizes, while Church schools had the largest in both levels.

The Northern Harbour District had the largest share of schools (33.7%) and students (37.6%), followed by the Southern Harbour District (19.8% of schools and 16.6% of students).

Gozo and Comino accounted for the smallest proportion of students at 7.3%.

More than two-thirds of students (69%) attended schools within their own district, while 31% travelled to schools in other districts.

The number of non-Maltese students increased by 8.3% year-on-year, with most enrolled in state or independent institutions. Nearly one in four students in independent schools (24.8%) were non-Maltese, compared with 23.1% in state schools. Almost all students in Church schools (99.2%) were Maltese. Of all non-Maltese students, 65.6% were citizens of third countries.

Among secondary students, Italian remained the most studied foreign language, chosen by 53.3%. French followed at 23.5%, Spanish at 16.1% and German at 12.2%.

The number of students studying Spanish increased by 8.5% compared with the previous year. Female students were more likely to study French, with 29.8% choosing it compared with 17.6% of male students — a difference of 12.2 percentage points.