Number of marriages decreased in 2019 when compared to previous year – NSO
The number of marriages registered in Malta for the year 2019 totalled 2,674, reflecting a total decrease of 157 marriages when compared to 2018, a report released last week by the National Statistics Office (NSO) shows.
The report highlighted that from the registered marriages, a decrease of 114 marriages was noted in the Malta region and a decrease of 43 marriages in the region of Gozo and Comino.
The NSO report, which provided details about the country’s demographics, also gave information about the country’s population size and growth.
The number of inhabitants living in Malta as at the end of 2019 amounted to 514,564, with 480,134 and 34,430 residing in the Malta, and Gozo and Comino regions, respectively.
During the period 2013 to 2019, the population of the Malta region increased every year with an overall growth of 82,166 inhabitants. The Northern Harbour district registered the highest population growth of 34.1%, followed by the Northern district registering a growth of 32.2%, whilst the least growth was recorded in the Western district, registering a growth of 6.6%.
The population of the Gozo and Comino region also increased every year as there was an overall population growth of 2,974 inhabitants, the report shows.
Meanwhile, over a seven-year period, the highest increases in population were experienced in the elderly population cohorts, whilst the population of between 10 and 19 years of age registered the largest decrease in both regions.
The NSO report also evaluated the change in total population on a locality level between 2013 and 2019. The highest population growth rates in the Malta region were registered in the localities of St Paul’s Bay, Msida, Gżira, St Julian’s, Sliema and Swieqi, while the locality of Santa Luċija recorded a negative growth rate. In the Gozo and Comino region, Ż̇ebbug, Munxar, San Lawrenz and Għajnsielem and Comino registered the highest percentage increases in population, while Għasri recorded a slight decline during the period under review.
When looking at the percentage of foreigners to the total population of each locality for the year 2019, the report shows that in the localities of Msida, St Paul’s Bay, Gżira, Sliema and St Julian’s, amongst a few others, foreigners accounted to approximately one third of the total population, while the localities of Mtarfa, Dingli and Santa Luċija had the lowest percentage of foreigners out of the total population residing in each of the localities.
Household characteristics
With regard to household characteristics, in 2019, the most common household size for people living in the Malta region was two-persons (32.4%), whereas in Gozo and Comino region oneperson households (32.5 %) were the most common.
In addition, the average household disposable income stood at €28,684 in the region of Malta, an increase of 2% over the previous year, while in the region of Gozo and Comino the average household disposable income stood at €26,034, an increase of 9.7% over 2018.
The average household disposable income was highest in the Western district at €34,399 and lowest in the Gozo and Comino district, the report shows.
According to the Survey on Income and Living Conditions, in 2019, 82,758 persons living in private households in Malta were at-risk-of-poverty, with 94.5% of these residing in the Malta region and 5.5% residing in the Gozo and Comino region.
These figures translate into atrisk-of poverty rates of 17.3% and 13.9% for the regions of Malta and Gozo and Comino, respectively.
Social Protection
With regard to social benefits, the report shows that the twothird pensions had the highest number of beneficiaries in both regions during the years under consideration, with 92.8% of the recipients having been in the Malta region and 7.2% in the Gozo and Comino region during 2018.
The report provides information on the expenditure per capita on the selected benefits in each locality in 2018. Therefore, the report highlights that this was highest in Mdina, Birgu, Santa Luċija and Floriana, where the expenditure per capita was greater than €2,000 in each of the localities.
In contrast, the expenditure per capita was less than €900 in the localities of St Paul’s Bay, Mtarfa, Swieqi Pembroke, Marsaskala, Msida and St Julian’s.