The 1,475 migrants who landed on Malta's shores last year spoke 24 different languages from the predominant Somali to the minority Woluf, the native tongue of an ethnic group that lives in the Senegal region.
Somali was spoken by 878 people while English was spoken by 268 migrants, almost half of them being Nigerian. Arabic was spoken by 146 migrants and French was spoken by 47 people.
The range of languages spoken, which includes singular examples of minority ethnic groups, makes for an interesting microcosm of African culture spanning from west to east and from the Northern Mediterranean shores to sub-Saharan Africa.
The information was presented to the media by Refugee Commissioner Mario Guido Friggieri during an overview of his office's work to process asylum applications this week.
Mr Friggieri said 481 migrants who landed last year were married but left their spouses behind them while another 37 couples travelled together. The vast majority, 920, were single.
The number of women was on the increase with 219 making it to Malta even though they were still heavily outnumbered by men. There were also 101 children who made the treacherous journey across the sea. Another 19 children were born in Malta.
Somalis formed the largest group of migrants followed at a distance by Eritreans.
Migrants arrived in just 17 boats, an indication of the larger boats that made it to Malta last year.
The statistics also burst the myth that migrants were predominantly from professional classes with only 39 being classified as such. Another 485 claimed to have some form of skill and 90 were classified as unskilled. The majority, 694, did not specify any skill and claimed they were unemployed.
Mr Friggieri explained that, upon arrival, migrants were informed by his office about their rights to apply for asylum.
They were also provided information booklets in 11 languages, explaining how the process would proceed.
Last year 1,308 migrants applied for asylum and 980 were granted some form of protection.
The Refugee Commissioner's Office received EU funds to bolster its human resources and ability to process applications at a faster pace.
Mr Friggieri said the average amount of time to conclude an asylum application had reduced to about six months.
The office was also receiving help from British and Dutch asylum and immigration agencies.