80,000 children in Malta, 14,000 less than in 2000

At the end of 2018, the total resident population stood at 493,559, of which 80,196 were aged 0-17 years.

Twelve per cent of such minors were foreigners, according to data compiled by the National Statistics Office published yesterday ahead of today’s World Children’s Day show.

The population of minors decreased by 14,442 when compared to the year 2000. The total number of resident live births stood at 4,444, an increase of 125 over the previous year. The crude birth rate remained unchanged over the past year, at nine births per 1,000 population.

Statistics from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) show that last year, 74,678 or 80 per cent of the total number of parents with children aged 0-17 were employed.

A gender breakdown reveals that 96 per cent of fathers and 65 per cent of mothers were in employment.

Data from the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) shows that 23 per cent of the 0-17 age group were at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion, four percentage points higher than the rate for the rest of the population.

EU-SILC also reveals that in 2018, 56,972 households had children aged 0-17. Apartments and flats were the most common type of dwellings for such households followed by semi-detached or terraced houses, while 2,029 households lived in detached houses.

When analysing the data by tenure status, 83 per cent of households with children aged 0-17 emerged as homeowners, while 12 per cent were tenants.

During the 2017/2018 academic year, the total number of students aged 0-17 enrolled in pre-primary, primary, secondary and post-secondary education was 63,182. Of these, 56,542 (89 per cent) were Maltese, while 6,604 (10 per cent) were of foreign nationality. Italians, Britons and Libyans composed the largest shares of foreign students with 964, 842 and 591 respectively.

The majority attended state schools (61 per cent), followed by church and independent schools - 27 and 12 per cent respectively.

The educational institutions hosting the largest number of students were in Birkirkara with 4,171, followed by Pembroke and Ħamrun with 3,574 and 2,791 respectively. Meanwhile, Birkirkara, Mosta and Naxxar were the top three localities of residence for students up to 17 years of age.