Tertiary-level graduates totalled 5,472 during 2022 – a decrease of 2.2 per cent over the previous year, the NSO said Friday.

The largest share of tertiary graduates attained a qualification at ISCED Level 6 (Bachelor’s or equivalent) (58.5 per cent). This was followed by 33.1 per cent of total tertiary graduates who attained a qualification at ISCED Level 7 (Master’s or equivalent).

More than half of tertiary graduates (55.6 per cent) were females. Females surpassed males in all levels of tertiary education except for ISCED 8 (PhD equivalent). The majority of tertiary-level graduates was made up of persons aged between 20 and 29 years (72.0 per cent). 

During 2022, 74.4 per cent of graduates attained a qualification from a full-time programme. Foreign graduates totalled 1,359, equivalent to 24.8 per cent of total tertiary-level graduates, increasing by 10.6 percentage points over the previous year. EU citizens (other than Maltese) comprised the largest proportion of all foreign tertiary graduates (57.8 per cent).

The ‘Business, administration and law’ field of study was the most popular field amongst tertiary graduates in 2022, accounting for more than one third of the total at 34.6 per cent. This was followed by graduates in the ‘Health and welfare’ field of study at 19.6 per cent. ‘Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary’ was the least popular field of study among tertiary graduates, amounting to 0.3 per cent.

In 2022, 15.4 per cent of graduates attained a qualification in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Of these, 597 were males while 247 were females. Female STEM graduates have increased by 2.9 per cent over the previous year, while male STEM graduates have decreased by 1.8 per cent.

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