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Journal of PopulationResearch ISSN 1443-2447Volume 27Number 4 J Pop Research (2010)27:315-322DOI 10.1007/s12546-010-9038-x
The changing face of the Maltesepopulation
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Your article is protected by copyright andall rights are held exclusively by SpringerScience & Business Media B.V.. This e-offprintis for personal use only and shall not be self-archived in electronic repositories. If youwish to self-archive your work, please use theaccepted author’s version for posting to yourown website or your institution’s repository.You may further deposit the accepted author’sversion on a funder’s repository at a funder’srequest, provided it is not made publiclyavailable until 12 months after publication.
The changing face of the Maltese population
C. Savona-Ventura • N. Felice • R. A. Gullaimier
Published online: 19 September 2010
� Springer Science & Business Media B.V. 2010
Abstract In the last decade the Maltese population has seen an influx of overseas-
born individuals. This has been largely due to Malta’s access to the European Union
and the increased intake of refugee immigrants. These immigration trends have
resulted in changes in population composition, with the overseas-born population
increasing from 17,740 (4.7%) in 1995 to 24,560 (6.1%) in 2005. There has also
been an increase in the proportion of births registered in Malta to overseas citizens,
including citizens of non-EU Europe (1.1%); the African continent (1.5%); America
(0.3%); and Asia (0.8%). About ten per cent of marriages in Malta are between a
Maltese spouse and a foreigner. The data suggest that the Maltese population is
slowly becoming more cosmopolitan, a trend that is gradually changing the ethnic
composition of the Maltese community.
Keywords Demography � Malta � Obstetric � Migration
Introduction
The Maltese population is said to have ancient Carthaginian and Phoenician origins
with a strong later Greco-Roman and Arab influence. The last millennium has further
C. Savona-Ventura (&) � N. Felice � R. A. Gullaimier
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Malta Medical School, Msida, Malta
e-mail: [email protected]
N. Felice
e-mail: [email protected]
R. A. Gullaimier
e-mail: [email protected]
N. Felice � R. A. Gullaimier
Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Mater Dei University Hospital, Msida, Malta
123
J Pop Research (2010) 27:315–322
DOI 10.1007/s12546-010-9038-x
Author's personal copy
seen the assimilation of several European elements, namely Italian, Spanish and
Frenchwith traces of Anglo-Saxon and other minor communities coming fromBritish
Commonwealth countries (D’Avanzo 2008). Situated in the central Mediterranean,
the Maltese Archipelago is characterized by a small land area with a correspondingly
high population density. In the last century, the high population density has resulted in
a bias towards emigration rather than immigration. Thus, in spite of regular contact
with other circum-Mediterranean populations, the inflow of foreign influence on the
population structure has been relatively minimal. The situation has changed
somewhat in the last decade with Malta serving as a migrant base for North African
refugees, and the island’s entry to the European Union in 2004. This study reviews
demographic changes that have taken place in the last decade.
Data
The study reviews the demographic structure of the Maltese population as this
relates to nationality and ethnicity as identified in the published Census reports for
1995 and 2005 (COS 1997; NSO 2007), supplemented by annual demographic
reviews published by the National Statistics Office over the last five decades.
The enumerated population in the national census is exclusive of tourists, visitors
and temporary residents but includes persons of any nationality resident in Malta for
periods of 1 year or more. It also excludes foreign diplomatic personnel and their
families, but includes Maltese diplomatic personnel living overseas and other
Maltese who were temporarily abroad. Citizenship in Malta after 1989 can be
acquired by virtue of birth to or descent from a Maltese citizen or Maltese-born
parent; through adoption by Maltese citizens; through registration after providing
evidence of direct descent from a Malta-born ancestor; by naturalization after
5 years of legal residence in Malta; or through marriage to a Maltese citizen after
5 years of residence (MJHA 2010).
The published crude birth, death and migration statistics for the last 50 years were
further collated and analysed (NSO 1963–2010). In addition the national birth
statistics for the years 1999–2007 were reviewed. The latter data were obtained from
the National Obstetrics Information Service (NOIS) collected by the Department of
Health Information and Research of the Department of Health of the Maltese Islands
(DHIR 2000–2008). The NOIS database includes all births that occur in the Maltese
Islands irrespective of nationality or residency status. The database for 1999–2007
includes information on the nationality status of 35,825 maternities.
Results
The crude birth rate in Malta was relatively stable over the first half of the twentieth
century, at around 38 annual births per 1,000 population, but has declined steadily
since, reaching 10.2 births per 1,000 population in 2008. Births have always exceeded
deaths, resulting in consistent natural population growth (Fig. 1). The population has
increased from 184,742 in 1901, to 305,991 in 1948 and 404,962 in 2005.
316 C. Savona-Ventura et al.
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The natural population growth from a surplus of births over deaths has been
moderated by migration, particularly in the last 50 years. There has been a definite
bias towards outflow movements, with emigration being particularly marked from
the 1950s to the early 1970s. There was a significant rise in immigration from the
mid-1970s, attributed to the phenomenon of returning Maltese migrants and their
families. This influx had stabilized by the early 1990s (Fig. 2). Throughout the
period 1946–1996, a total of 155,060 persons migrated overseas, mainly to Australia
(86,787), Canada (19,792), the United Kingdom (31,489), and the United States of
America (11,601). Returning migrants during the same period amounted to 39,087.
Again, migrants mainly returned from Australia (17,847), Canada (4,798), the
United Kingdom (12,659), and the United States of America (2,580).
In the 1995 national census, the total registered Maltese population was 378,132
with 186,836 males and 191,296 females. A total of 360,392 (95.3%) had obtained
0
5
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25
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35
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45
1945
1955
1965
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2005
Rat
e p
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Death Rate
Fig. 1 Crude birth and death rates—Maltese population
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1945
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Fig. 2 Migration trend patterns: Maltese population
The changing face of the Maltese population 317
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their citizenship by birth. A further 10,527 (2.8%) born overseas had acquired
Maltese citizenship by registration, naturalization, or marriage, with around half of
these holding dual nationality. The majority of the overseas-born population
(17,740: 4.7%) were from the United Kingdom (6,223: 35%), Australia (4,008:
23%), Canada (1,617: 9%), and the United States (971: 5%) (Table 1). More than
half the overseas-born population were in the main reproductive ages 15–44 years
(10,102: 57%), with the remainder evenly distributed between those aged under
15 years (3,462: 20%) and aged 45 years or more (4,176: 24%).
By 2005, the overseas born had increased to 24,560 (6.1%), showing a 1.4%
proportional increase from that registered in 1995. About half (12,681: 51.2%) of
these foreign-born individuals had acquired Maltese citizenship. The main
proportional increase was noted in European-born persons who during 2005
accounted for 3.5% of the population, in contrast to 2.2% the previous decade.
Immigrants born in the United States, Canada and Australia retained similar
proportional representation (1.7% in 1995 vs. 1.6% in 2005). There was a minimal
proportional increase in nationals from other countries (Table 1).
Besides individual and family group immigration, the overseas-born population
also increased through child adoptions from overseas. There were 497 adoptions
registered in Malta, 1997–2005, of which 352 were of children born outside Malta.
In the subsequent period 2006–2008, 224 children were adopted, of whom 177 were
born overseas. Adoption countries of origin in the intercensal period included
Romania (183), Pakistan (52), Ethiopia (49), and Russia (14). After 2005, the
majority of adoptions originated from Russia (96) and Ethiopia (50). There were no
adoptions from Romania and only eight children from Pakistan (Table 2).
Another inflow into the population in the last decade has been that of irregular
immigrants from Africa. During the four-year period 2002–2005, 5,398 people
Table 1 Maltese population by country of birth—Census years 1995 and 2005
Country of birth Census 1995 Census 2005
Total % Males Females Total % Males Females
Malta 3,60,392 95.3 1,78,470 1,81,922 3,80,402 93.9 1,88,920 1,91,482
UK 6,223 1.6 2,736 3,487 8,150 2.0 3,784 4,366
Italy 776 0.2 447 329 1,129 0.3 742 387
France 114 0.0 52 62 203 0.1 73 130
Germany 377 0.1 153 224 761 0.2 334 427
Other EU country 408 0.1 163 245 1,431 0.4 661 770
Other European 574 0.2 265 309 2,615 0.6 1,187 1,428
USA 971 0.3 446 525 1,099 0.3 552 547
Canada 1,617 0.4 798 819 1,525 0.4 723 802
Australia 4,008 1.1 1,926 2,082 3,893 1.0 1,760 2,133
Libya 508 0.1 274 234 769 0.2 505 264
Other country 2,164 0.6 1,106 1,058 2,985 0.7 1,578 1,407
Total 3,78,132 100.0 1,86,836 1,91,296 4,04,962 100.0 200,819 2,04,143
318 C. Savona-Ventura et al.
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entered the Islands as irregular immigrants. The subsequent three-year period
2006–2008 saw the arrival of 6,257 persons (Table 3).
The increasing diversity of citizenship status in Malta is reflected in its marriage
statistics. In 2008, there were 2,482 marriages, of which 1,554 (62.6%) involved
Maltese–Maltese spouses. A total of 122 (4.9%) marriages involved a Maltese
groom to a foreign bride, and 101 (4.1%) a Maltese bride to a foreign groom. The
remaining 28.4% of marriages involved both-foreign partners (Table 4).
Table 2 Adoptions by country of origin (no data published for 1996)
Country of origin 1997–2000 2001–2005 2006–2008 Total %
Europe
Malta 58 87 47 192 26.6
EU country 154 44 4 202 27.9
Other European 6 20 102 130 18.0
Africa
African—Maghreb 0 5 0 5 0.7
Sahel belt and horn of Africa 0 50 50 100 13.8
Equatorial and southern Africa 0 8 1 9 1.3
Americas
North America
Central America and Caribbean 0 1 2 3 0.4
South America 1 0 0 1 0.1
Asia
Western Asia 0 0 0 0 0
Central Asia 0 1 2 3 0.4
Eastern Asia 3 5 7 15 2.1
Southern Asia 21 31 9 61 8.4
Oceania
Oceania 0 0 0 0 0
Other
Total 245 252 224 721 100.0
Table 3 Irregular immigrant
arrivals (no data published for
1996–2001)
Year Irregular immigrant
arrivals
Applications filed
for granting refugee status
2002 1,686 350
2003 502 455
2004 1,388 995
2005 1,822 1,165
2006 1,780 1,261
2007 1,702 1,386
2008 2,775 2,608
The changing face of the Maltese population 319
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Births by citizenship of mother for the period 1999–2007 are set out in Table 5:
the vast majority of births are to women with Maltese citizenship (93.5%). Around
half of births to non-Maltese citizens are to citizens of other European countries
Table 4 Marriages by country of citizenship—2008
Bride citizenship Groom citizenship
Malta UK Other
EU
Other
European
America Africa Asia Oceania Unspecified
Malta 1,554 19 33 11 5 28 4 1 21
UK 11 421 9 3 1 1 0 1 2
Other EU 20 24 121 3 2 3 4 0 3
Other European 51 2 4 6 0 0 0 1 0
America 3 1 4 0 11 0 0 0 0
Africa 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Asia 17 2 1 0 1 0 12 0 1
Oceania 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 7 0
Unspecified 21 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 17
Table 5 Births by citizenship
of motherRegistered citizenship Maternities 1999–2007
Maternities %
Europe
Malta 33,489 93.5
EU country 716 2.0
Other European 403 1.1
Africa
African—Maghreb 380 1.16
Sahel belt and horn of Africa 139 0.4
Equatorial and southern Africa 31 0.1
Americas
North America 68 0.2
Central America and Caribbean 16 0.0
South America 17 0.0
Asia
Western Asia 70 0.2
Central Asia 5 0.0
Eastern Asia 173 0.5
Southern Asia 32 0.1
Oceania
Oceania 93 0.3
Other
Stateless/unregistered 193 0.5
Total 35,825 100.0
320 C. Savona-Ventura et al.
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(3.1%), with the remainder to mothers from Africa (1.5%), the Americas (0.3%),
Asia (0.8%), and Oceania (0.3%).
Discussion
The last century of Maltese population flows has been characterized by strong
outmigration, with higher levels of immigration only since the 1970s.
Early in the twentieth century, the Maltese government promoted an emigration
drive. During the period 1911–1921, 11,860 males emigrated to the United States,
Canada and Australia. A marked impetus was made in the post-WorldWar II period by
the administration to implement an extensive emigration policy to deal with the
problems of unemployment. This population outflow generally involved younger
people, thus affecting the Islands’ demographic structure as far as population growth and
age structure were concerned. During the period 1948–1957, 63,000 persons emigrated
overseas. These government-sponsored emigration drives continued through to the
1960s. Immigration during this period was minimal, and often restricted to returning
migrants (Savona-Ventura 2003).
Since the mid-1970s, a new demographic phenomenon has occurred when a
significant influx of returning migrants was registered (COS 1986). The emigration
and immigration rates slowly decreased throughout the 1980s and 1990s, so that in
1995 only 107 Maltese proceeded overseas and 621 returned to the Maltese Islands.
The larger proportion of this migration was directed to and from the traditional
migrant-targeted countries including Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and the
United States; only 15 emigrants and 45 returning migrants came from other
countries (COS 1996). While the migration movement of the early twentieth century
had significant effects on the demographic structure of the Maltese population, it
had a minimal effect on the overall ethnic composition since this movement
generally involved Maltese-born persons.
The recent past has seen a shift in migration patterns so that the Maltese
population is now registering a significant increase in individuals born overseas. The
census analysis for 1995 had shown that overseas-born residents amounted to 4.7%,
of whom about 72% were born in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada or the
United States. Many of these were probably children or spouses of returning
Maltese migrants. The exact proportion of these individuals representing persons of
Maltese descent cannot be identified from the published Census data.
In the subsequent decade, the proportion of overseas-born residents in the
Maltese population rose to 6.1% with 61% of these being born in the traditional
Maltese emigrant countries. European countries accounted for 13% of overseas-
born residents in 1995 and 26% in 2005. This rise in the European-born element of
the Maltese population can be in part attributed to the Freedom of Movement Act
that followed the entry of the Maltese Islands to the European Union in 2004. The
intercensal period had seen a rise in the number of overseas-born individuals
coming from other countries, notably from the African and Asian continents.
In the last decade there has been a greater influx of overseas-born migrants from
countries encompassing the five continents. A good proportion of these have
The changing face of the Maltese population 321
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assumed resident status, contributing towards a more cosmopolitan society. These
overseas-born residents will contribute to the welcome introduction of diversity in
the ethnic composition of a previously relatively closed island population.
References
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