The figures were released on World Book and Copyright Day, marked by Unesco to promote reading and publishing.

The NSO said that at the turn of the century, these imports amounted to 6.3 million items. By contrast, in the 1993-2003 decade, private consumption expenditure on printed matter, both of local and foreign origin, increased by 34 per cent from nearly Lm13 million in 1993 to over Lm17 million in 2003.

Book purchases by the public library system fell by 37 per cent over the six-year period 1998-2003 but this was made up for by a handsome increase in book donations, which more than tripled. The most pronounced shift in public library lending has occurred in the seven regional libraries.

Here, book loans have been climbing steadily since 1998 to reach nearly 229,000 in 2003, a 69 per cent increase over 1998. Branch library lending in Gozo has also seen an upsurge, with over 48,000 books loaned out in 2003 as against some 34,000 the previous year.

In the five-year period 1999-2003, more than 20,000 young people up to the age of 18 years became members of the public library. The greatest number live in the northern harbour region comprising localities such as Sliema, Hamrun and Birkirkara, while the lowest number came from the northern district. This, however, encompasses the least number of localities.

In the same period, just over 12,000 adults joined as members, with the highest number living, again, in the northern harbour region.

The most prolific publisher in Malta is the state – government departments and related bodies – with a hefty 36 per cent of the surveyed published output in 2003. Commercial publishing in the same year constituted 26 per cent, while a sizeable proportion of print material – 11 per cent – was published by authors.

The Maltese language was used in 56 per cent of publications, with English accounting for 38 per cent. The remainder were bilingual publications.

With regard to the literary genre, children’s fiction dominated with 24 per cent of commercially-published output, closely followed by publications relating to all aspects of Maltese culture at 23 per cent.