Population reaches 414,000
More than a fifth of births outside wedlock
The Maltese population continued to soar in the past year, reaching almost 414,000 by January 1, 2009.
Much of the increase was attributed to the arrival of immigrants, while babies born out of wedlock accounted for almost one in every four births in 2008.
Giving details of the latest demographic trends in the EU last year, the EU's statistics office, Eurostat, said that despite the fact that Malta had normal birth and death rates in 2008, the number of migrants arriving on the island has contributed significantly to the increase in population over the past year.
In fact, the island's population increased by a total of 3,340 persons over a year. Of these, 890 were the result of natural births and deaths while the rest, 2,450 people, were migrants.
During 2008, there were 4,130 new births while 3,240 people passed away. Although marriage continued to be a strong institution in Malta, with more than 2,500 marriages, the number of babies born outside wedlock continued to rise.
According to Eurostat, 22.7 per cent of all the new live births registered during the year were born to unmarried women.
The rate contrasts sharply with what used to happen just a few years ago. In 2000, the number of births outside wedlock stood at 10.6 per cent.
The rate in other EU member states is much higher. In 2008 it stood at 59 per cent in Estonia, 54 per cent in Sweden and Slovenia and 51 per cent in Bulgaria.
Life expectancy also continued to improve. Men can now expect to live an average of 76.9 years, while women can expect to live almost to 82.