Malta's birth rate is falling, but the population is growing, because of immigration, figures issued today by the NSO show.
In a statement to mark World Population Day, the NSO said that Malta's population at the end of 2010 stood at 417,608, of which just over half were female.
1,730 persons aged over 90
Persons under 18 comprised 19 per cent of the total, while a further 16 per cent were aged 65 and over, of whom 1,730 persons (1,220 females and 510 males) were 90 and over.
The NSO explained that its total population estimates were calculated using the 2009 population as a base, and taking into consideration births, deaths, adoptions of foreigners, immigration and emigration.
The population increased by 0.8 per cent over 2009, mainly due to a net migration (immigration less emigration) total of 2,200.
A time series analysis of births showed that, in spite of annual increases over the previous two years, the number of births dropped by 3 per cent in 2010. This was largely due to a decrease in the number of births in Malta, by 5 per cent, while births in Gozo advanced by 19 per cent.
Deaths also went down by 7 per cent, from 3,221 in 2009 to 3,010 in 2010.
The largest drop was for persons aged 25-34, where the total number of
deaths fell by 36 per cent over 2009. Persons aged 75 and over made up 61 per cent of the total, while females made up just over half.
Increase in number of marriages
2010 saw an increase in the number of marriages, the highest number since 2000. This increase brought the crude marriage rate for 2010 to 6.2. The most popular age for men to get married was between 25 and 29, with 41 per cent of grooms falling in this age bracket
Brides were slightly younger on average, with 43 per cent aged 20-24.
Interestingly,51 grooms were aged 60 and over last year, while just six brides fell in this age bracket.
A total of 566 separations were registered at the Public Registry in 2010, of which 90 per cent involved marriages where both spouses were Maltese. Furthermore 47 divorces obtained abroad were recognised by the Maltese authorities. Nearly two-thirds were cases where the previous marriage lasted 10 years and over, while just under one-tenth involved marriages which had taken place less than 5 years earlier.
124 annulments - 29 religious and 95 civil - were registered in the year under review in the year under review, with the largest proportion regarding
previous marriages that had lasted 10-19 years.