More foreigners living in Malta

The number of foreign nationals living in Malta rose to three per cent of the population in 2005, reaching 12,112, according to the Census of Population and Housing. In 1995 only 1.9 per cent of residents were foreigners.

This means that although the total population of the islands reached 404,962 two years ago, only 392,850, or 97 per cent of them, were actually Maltese nationals, a smaller segment than the 98.1 per cent recorded in 1995.

More than a third of the foreigners were British, 4,713, while 51.2 per cent were female.

Maltese nationals comprised 194,907 males and 197,943 females.

In terms of the whole population, the discrepancy between the number of males and females living on Malta and Gozo narrowed between 1995 and 2005, the census shows. In 2005, the population consisted of 200,819 males, or 49.6 per cent of the population, and 204,143 females. In 1995, the proportion of males stood at 49.4 per cent with the share of females at 50.6 per cent. This means that the gap between males and females has narrowed.

Malta remains the most densely populated EU member state, with an average of 1,285 persons per square kilometre. The Netherlands ranks a far away second, with 480 residents per square kilometre.

Malta has 1,517 inhabitants per square kilometre, which is more than three times as many as Gozo with 452 persons per square kilometre.

On a national level, population density increased by 7.1 per cent in 2005 when compared to 10 years earlier.

All districts except Southern Harbour have experienced increases in population density.

In the 2005 census, a total of 139,583 private households were recorded. The trend towards smaller households continued. The average household size in 2005 stood at 2.9 persons, down from 3.1 in 1995.

In this 10-year span, private households increased in number, by 20,104, or 16.8 per cent.

A total of 2,075 Maltese residents indicated that they had been living in another country one year prior to the census and 7,220 said they had been doing so five years earlier.

Internal migration has decreased. In the 2005 census, 16,715 persons indicated that they lived in another locality one year prior to November 2005, a 10.4 per cent decrease from 1995.

And 53,104 persons said they were living in a different locality five years prior to the census, a decrease of 30.4 per cent over the 1995 figure.

The internal migration flow was most intense in the Northern Harbour District, where 30.1 per cent indicated that they had lived in a different locality one year prior to the census.