It is never too late to tie the knot and 51 grooms and six brides aged 60 and over got married last year, according to figures released by the National Statistics Office.

Last year saw an increase in the number of marriages, which totalled 2,596, the highest registered since 2000. This brought the crude marriage rate (number of marriages per 1,000 in total mid-year population) for 2010 to 6.2.

The most popular age for men to walk up the aisle was between 25 and 29, with 41 per cent falling in this age bracket. Brides were slightly younger on average, with 43 per cent aged 20-24.

A total of 566 separations were registered at the Public Registry last year, of which 90 per cent involved marriages where both spouses were Maltese.

Meanwhile, 47 divorces obtained abroad were recognised by authorities. Nearly two-thirds were cases where the marriage lasted 10 years and over, while just under one-tenth involved marriages which had taken place less than five years earlier.

There were 124 annulments – 29 religious and 95 civil – registered in the year under review, with the largest proportion involving marriages that lasted 10-19 years.

The statistics, issued yesterday to mark World Population Day, show that the island’s population at the end of last year stood at 417,608, of which just over half were female.

The figures show the birth rate falling but the population growing because of immigration.

Those under 18 made up 19 per cent of the total, while a further 16 per cent were aged 65 and over. Of these, 1,730 persons (1,220 females and 510 males) were aged 90 and over.

The NSO explained that its total 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 three per cent in 2010. This was largely due to a decrease in the number of births in Malta, by five per cent, while births in Gozo advanced by 19 per cent.

Deaths also went down by seven per cent, to 3,010 in 2010 from 3,221 in 2009. The largest drop was for persons aged 25-34, where the total number of deaths dropped by 36 per cent over 2009.