The total population on 31 December 2012 stood at 421,230, increasing by 0.9 per cent

over the previous year.

“At 95 per cent, the Maltese population accounted for the majority,” according to the National Statistics Office.

The NSO released the data since World Population Day, observed annually internationally, is celebrated today.

The theme chosen this year is “adolescent pregnancy”.

The NSO said that persons in the 0-17 age bracket made up 18 per cent of the total population.

The share of persons aged 65 and over stood at 17 per cent.

The total number of live births registered during 2012 decreased by 1.2 per cent when

compared to the previous year and stood at 4,231.

The largest share of registered births, 33.6 per cent, involved mothers aged between 30 and 34, while 212 births, or five per cent, involved teenage mothers. Out of the 1,073 births outside marriage, 17.3 per cent involved teenage mothers, while 32.2 per cent involved mothers aged 20-24.

The total number of deaths during the year under review reached 3,418 – up by 4.7 per

cent over the previous year.

Sixty-four per cent of these deaths involved persons aged 75 and over. Deaths occurring to persons aged 15-19 dropped by 72.7 per cent when compared to 2011 levels.

The total number of registered marriages during 2012 stood at 2,823, up by 10.2 per

cent when compared to the previous year. Of these, 41.4 per cent were civil marriages,

which also rose by 21.2 per cent over 2011. Nearly a quarter of these marriages

involved spouses aged 25-29.

During 2012, the Public Registry registered 554 separations. Of these, 90.4 per cent

involved marriages where both spouses were Maltese nationals. A total of 441

divorces were granted by the Maltese Authorities, while a further 69 divorces were obtained abroad and later recognised by the Maltese Authorities. Just over half of these divorces involved couples who had been married for more than 19 years, while a third involved couples whose marriage had lasted between 10 and 19 years. In addition, 133 annulments were registered during 2012, of which 66.9 per cent involved civil marriages.

Another 40.6 per cent of these cases occurred to couples who had been married for

10 or 19 years.