Cosmopolitan Sliema: 29% of residents are not Catholic, survey finds

16% of Sliema residents do not belong to any religion and 13% belong to a religious denomination that is not Roman Catholic.

These statistics emerge from the findings of a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) on the proposed Townsquare high-rise, which revealed widespread opposition to the project and deep distrust in the Planning Authority.

Shining a new light on life in one of Malta’s most cosmopolitan communities, the study also finds that Sliema residents using English in their everyday conversations outnumbered those who speak Maltese. And only one-third consider themselves to be active participants in local community life.

The study was based on a randomly selected sample consisting of 300 Maltese and 150 foreign residents living in Sliema. The balance between Maltese and foreigners reflects that found in official statistics.

When asked about religious affiliations, 71% of respondents said they are Roman Catholic, 16% claimed to have no religious beliefs at all, 9% claimed to belong to other Christian denominations (not Catholic), 4% identified themselves as Muslim and 0.8% identified with an Eastern religion.

The SIA refers to a MaltaToday survey carried out in 2016, where while 89% identified themselves with the Catholic religion, less than 5% identified themselves as not belonging to any religion. “This indicates that Sliema is, by comparison, more religiously diverse than the rest of the Maltese islands,” the study said.

The SIA also throws a light on the languages used in Sliema. While 65% use Maltese in everyday communication, 75% also use English and 15% use Italian. French was used by 1.5%. Languages mentioned by less than 1% of respondents included German, Spanish, Arabic, Serbian, Greek and Romanian.

When asked whether they feel there is a sense of community in Sliema only 49% replied ‘yes’, while 44% replied ‘no’ and 7% opted for ‘don’t know’.  But when asked whether they feel they are an active member of the Sliema community, 64% replied ‘no’.

When questioned on “whether they wish to be involved in the planning of projects that affect the lifestyle of the people in the community” only 38% answered ‘yes’.

When asked about the positive aspects of living in Sliema 80% referred to its central location. The ‘availability of good shopping’, ‘proximity to beaches’ and ‘availability of good restaurants and catering establishments’ were mentioned by 70% to 80% of respondents. The ‘availability of multiple services’, ‘commercial activity’ and ‘vibrant tourism sector’ were mentioned by 60% to 70% of the respondents’ approval. The ‘cosmopolitan character’ and ‘good standard of living’ were mentioned by 50% to 60% of the respondents.

Traffic and parking were perceived to be the major problems in Sliema by 85% and 84% of residents respectively. Dirt/air pollution and noise pollution were mentioned by 70% to 80% of respondents, while overpopulation, lack of urban planning and lack of natural environment were mentioned by 60 to 70% of the respondents.

Only 28% said that Sliema has a poor standard of living. And 5% lamented that pavements tend to be taken over by restaurant chairs and tables.