Malta’s population has increased by 18.2% - which translates to 76,127 persons - since the last census was taken in 2011, official population statistics show.

An analysis conducted by The Malta Independent which compares new figures released in the Government Gazette which show the estimated population in each locality in Malta and Gozo as of 1 January 2019 to population figures ascertain through Malta’s past censuses show that the period between 2011 and the present day has been one of the most intensive for population growth.

The official statistics show that Malta’s population stood at 493,559 at the beginning of the year, with 460,171 of those living in Malta and the remaining 33,388 living in Gozo. Compared with population figures presented in the 2011 census, were the country’s total population was of 417,432, this is an increase of 76,127 people (18.2%) in eight years.

The bulk of the population increase was seen on the country’s main island, where the population jumped from 386,057 in 2011 up to 460,171 this year – an increase of just over 19%. The population in Gozo also increased, but at nowhere near the same rate as in Malta.  In fact, there were 31,375 people in 2011 while the new statistics show a population of 33,388 in 2019 – an increase of 6.4%.

The most significant area which has seen an increase in population is without doubt the northern part of the island. 

Where in 1901 St. Paul’s Bay was registered as a presumably quiet fishing village with a population of 185 people, today’s statistics show that the population stands at 29,097 – making the locality the most populous on the island. The astonishing increase has seen it almost double from the 16,395 residents registered in the 2011 census.

St. Julian’s has registered a similarly large increase from 8,067 in 2011 to 13,792 in 2019, as has Msida – with the population there leaping from 7,748 in 2011 to 13,713 in 2019. Similar jumps were also registered in Sliema and Swieqi.

In percentage terms, the population has increased by 77.4% in St. Paul’s Bay, 77% in Msida, 70.9% in St. Julian’s, 65.8% in Sliema, and 65.1% in Swieqi.

There were also increases in population, albeit less intense, in localities such as San Gwann, and Gzira, along with localities in the south of the island such as Marsaskala and Fgura.

The vast majority of the localities which have experienced declines in population meanwhile are those in the southern harbour area.

Whereas 42.5% of the 164,952 of those living in Malta (not Gozo) resided in this region in 1901, the population share that the region holds has dropped well below that. While the percentage started to drop from there as more people took up residence outside of the area, the numerical population of the region reached a peak of 90,705 residents in the 1957 census.  It has dropped in numbers ever since, with more and more people favouring other areas such as the Northern Harbour area, which has tripled since 1901.

A comparison between the pre-war statistics and the 2019 statistics in fact show how people have filtered out of localities such as Valletta, Cospiqua, Senglea, Vittoriosa, and Floriana, likely a reflection of how Malta’s industrial sphere has moved out of the Grand Harbour area to other parts of the island.

Indeed, the capital city has seen the most significant decrease since 1901 with 5,827 people now living there compared to a peak of 23,006 in 1911 – a decrease of 74.7%.  There were similar decreases from the peak populations – which were registered in 1911 for Cospiqua and Senglea and in 1931 for Floriana and Birgu – in the other localities: 67.4% in Floriana, 66.8% in Senglea, 62.1% in Vittoriosa, and 57.5% in Cospiqua.

Between 2011 and 2019, all these localities have either continued to decline or registered very similar numbers.  The decline is such that the population in the each of the Three Cities is now very similar or even lower than those registered in 1948, when the infrastructural effects of the Second World War on the area were still far from being dealt with in full.

Other localities meanwhile have populations which have decreased from their past peak populations. Santa Lucija’s population has decreased by 18% since 1995, while Mdina’s population is only the second lowest it’s ever been – having increased by four people since 2011.

Hamrun’s, Marsa’s and Paola’s population have decreased by 43.1%, 52.8%, and 41.1% respectively since they peaked in 1948, although it should here be note that both these localities saw significant influxes in population due to movement as a consequence of the Second World War. 

It should also be noted that between 2011 and 2019, Hamrun’s population actually increased from 9,043 people to 9,743 people – even bypassing the population it held in 2005. The same trend can be seen in Marsa, where the population increased from 4,788 to 5,454 in the present.