One-fifth of births out of wedlock

The number of births outside marriage has increased steadily from 0.7 per cent in 1960 to 20.2 per cent in 2005.

This was one of the figures given by the National Office of Statistics in a statement issued on the occasion of the international day of families, celebrated yesterday.

The number of live births in 2005 were recorded at 3,858, a decrease of 55 per cent when compared to 1960.

The NSO said shifts in trends could also be observed when considering the ages at which women were bearing children.

The preferred age group is no longer 20-24, as was the case in 1960. In 2005 the majority of live births, 37.2 per cent, were to women aged between 25 and 29.

The 30-34 age group was the next most popular, accounting for 28.8 per cent. In contrast, the percentage of live births to women aged 40 and over dropped from 4.6 per cent in 1960 to 2.4 per cent in 2005.

The number of households without dependent children in 2005 was estimated to be 1.6 times the number of households with dependent children.

The NSO said that the most common type of household with dependent children consisted of two adults and two children.

The tendency to live alone was higher for women than for men since 66.9 per cent of one-person households related to female householders. Furthermore, 58.4 per cent of one-person households consisted of persons aged 65 and over.

The NSO said that over the past decade, the number of marriages has fluctuated from year to year, such that no particular trend could be identified. In 2005, the number of marriages was 2,374, of which 66.3 per cent were between Maltese spouses.

Data from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2005 indicated that overall, persons living in households with dependent children were more prone to be at risk of poverty than persons in households without dependent children. For these two categories, the at-risk-of-poverty rates were 17.7 per cent and 11.6 per cent, respectively.

The highest at-risk-of-poverty category in 2005 emerged as single-parent households with one or more dependent children.