Malta has second lowest birth rate in EU

Malta has the second lowest birth rate in the European Union but also one of the lowest death rates, according to new figures issued by the EU's statistical office.

Having a baby does not seem to be high on the agenda for Maltese couples these days and with the exception of Germany, Malta registered the lowest crude birth rate in Europe in 2008.

The crude birth rate is the number of births per 1,000 inhabitants. While the average across the EU was 10.8, in Malta the rate stood at 9.2. Only Germany performed worse with a rate of 8.3.

The highest birth rates per 1,000 inhabitants were registered in Ireland (18.1), the UK (13), France (12.9), Estonia (12.2), Sweden (11.9) and Denmark (11.8).

At the other end of the life span, people here appear to be living longer, with the number of deaths per 1,000 population being 7.7 - far lower than the 9.7 average in the EU.

Malta's crude death rate is in fact among the best in the EU, with just Ireland (6.1) and Luxembourg (6.9) performing better.

Despite its low birth rate, Malta's population by January 1 is expected to reach 412,600. Over the past 12 months Malta's overall population increased by 2,300, mainly due to immigration and the fewer number of deaths.

Thanks to the substantial rise in immigrants, the population increased by 5.6 persons per 1,000 inhabitants.

The same trend was witnessed in the EU, but here the increase in migrants is 4.2 per 1,000 population while the EU average is of 3.3.

Eurostat said that the EU27 will have a population of 499.7 million on January 1, with the population growing by 4.4 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2008 due to natural population growth of 1.1 per 1,000, and net migration of 3.3 per 1,000. In total, the EU27 population is estimated to have increased by 2.2 million in 2008.