The number of registered births in Malta experienced a massive increase within a decade, between 2008 and 2017, information tabled in parliament this evening shows.

In 2008, 4466 births were registered, whilst 7712 births were registered in the year 2017.

The increase was gradual from one year to the next, except between 2009 and 2010.

The information was tabled by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in reply to a parliamentary question by Labour MP Byron Camilleri, who asked for the number of births per year that were registered within the Malta public registry.

The figures from the Gozo public registry were not included in the data, however, stood alone in another set of figures. Births registered in Gozo held a relatively steady rate from one year to the next.

Meanwhile, in contrast with the spike in births, the number of deaths registered in Malta has shifted over the years, with varying numbers from one year to the next, however keeping within the limits of 2500 and 3500 deaths per annum.