Recent population reports show Malta’s fertility rate is in decline. An article in The Economist went as far to say the Maltese population might not make it to the next millennium.
The key to addressing Malta’s shrinking population may lie in revising immigration policy so that migrants are employed and possibly granted residency in the interest of the economy, according to two academics.
The desired number of children in a family is a private matter and the government does not interfere
“The future of Malta will probably rely on immigrants for certain types of occupations, and this will increase the proportion of younger people in the population,” economist Lino Briguglio said.
It would be important to ensure Malta attracts migrants who can contribute to the economy and not draw out resources without contributing, he said.
According to government consultant and Pensions Working Group chairman David Spiteri Gingell, Malta must implement a holistic framework of pro-natal policies – to revive dropping birth rates to levels that counter the projected phenomena of an ageing and shrinking population – or “give considerable thought to the introduction of an immigration policy directed to revitalise Malta’s population”.
The country would need a mix of policy tools that include a targeted immigration and residential policy directed at engaging foreigners to address current and future skill needs to allow further economic growth, he said.
Anthropologist Mark Anthony Falzon pointed out that people would have to revisit their concept for nationalism.
“Nationalism is essentially a political idea which makes much use of biological and temporal metaphors,” he said.
“In this case, we come to project ‘the Maltese’ backwards and forwards in time. We come to imagine ‘ourselves’ as the descendants of primordial populations... and the ancestors of future ones. The trick is in the imagined continuity, or lack of it. Nations live off imagined pasts and futures,” he said.
EU figures showed that, on average, the EU’s fertility rate in 2009 stood at 1.6 per woman, an increase over 1.47 registered in 2003. However, the fertility rate for Maltese dropped to 1.44 from 1.48 per woman in 2003.
However, population statistics issued in Brussels showed that Malta’s population last year grew by 3,200 people – mainly because of immigration.
While the Maltese population registered a natural growth of 1,000, (4,000 newborns vs 3,000 deaths), a total of 2,200 migrants arrived.
So, how would the dropping fertility rate impact Malta?
Prof. Briguglio said the proportion of older people will increase in relation to working age people. This will lead to major problems relating to the funding of the pension scheme.
The government is currently evaluating a report drawn up by the Pensions Working Group recommending a mandatory private pension scheme targeted at those under 45 and the introduction of the second pillar pension.
“The problem is already with us and it is currently being addressed by increasing the age when a worker is entitled to a pension. In practice, this will increase the proportion of those contributing to, rather than drawing from, the pension funds.
“However, the problem will probably persist, unless more women and immigrants join the labour force,” he said.
Women in employment
Malta has one of the lowest rates of working women in the EU. The 2012 pre-Budget document showed that in the 20 to 49 age group, the female employment rate in European countries stood at 68.1 per cent and that of Mediterranean countries at 64.6 per cent. In Malta, the rate is 54.3 per cent.
Renee Laiviera, who chairs the Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations, believes the government can do more.
“When a couple are planning to have a child, the last thing on their mind is the national birth rate... Increasing the birth rate is the responsibility of government and its policies. Our economy has to increase the female participation rate in the labour market. Raising the national birth rate will in itself increase human resources to further expand the economy and sustain pensions,” she said.
The pre-Budget document, she said, recognised that there was a “steady erosion” of women in the labour market but proposed no plans to introduce effective family support structures.
A cohesive action plan was required to tackle the lacunae parents were facing to find a work/life balance. This would have to include efficient childcare services, flexible work conditions in the public and private sector and parental leave for fathers, among others.
Dr Spiteri Gingell noted that statistics showed a strong correlation between child bearing and the active participation of women in the labour force.
Participation of women with children (aged 25 to 49) stood at 31.4 per cent, compared with 65.6 per cent participation among those who are not mothers.
He said measures that supported pro-natal policies, such as the alignment of the pension system, had to be complemented by a thorough and in-depth study of the measures Malta should embrace to bridge what currently constituted opposing poles: the responsibility of raising a family, with the aspiration to remain an active participant in the labour market.
Any action?
So is the government doing anything to encourage more births?
A Family Ministry spokesman said the desired number of children in a family was a private matter and government did not interfere. However, family policies have a significant impact on demographic changes in society.
Over the years, the government had introduced measures in the form of tax incentives, social benefits, accessible childcare centres and flexible working hours and support services, he said.
More than 8,000 mothers benefited from tax refunds, amounting to €8 million, to return to work after the birth of their child.
Medically-assisted procreation has been the subject of a national discussion and legislation on this was expected to be presented to Parliament for discussion in the foreseeable future.
From an anthropological point of view, Dr Falzon believes that rather than action in terms of policies, what is needed is a change in the way people perceived social constructs, like nationality and gender.
“I think the drop in fertility rates has to do with people planning smaller families, or no families at all.
“The reasons are many and complicated but one reason is certainly that more people, men and women, find self-fulfilment in areas other than family...
“This is not strange in any way. It’s invariably a corollary of an affluent society.
“I personally don’t think we need worry about it since there are enough people in the world as it is, so I wouldn’t do anything about it,” he said.
He believes the decreasing fertility rate of women is a good sign as “it shows women are busy doing things other than having babies – like careers and travelling and so on...”
He added: “Worrying about women having fewer babies and the decline of ‘a national population’ is intensely a political thing linked to notions of gender and nationalism.”
Total live births
| Year | Live Births |
| 1960 | 8,565 |
| 1965 | 5,628 |
| 1970 | 5,314 |
| 1975 | 6,007 |
| 1980 | 5,816 |
| 1985 | 5,587 |
| 1990 | 5,568 |
| 1995 | 5,003 |
| 2000 | 4,392 |
| 2005 | 3,858 |
| 2008 | 4,126 |
Source: National Statistics Office
Through a midwife’s eyes
Midwife Antoinette Saliba has been helping mothers deliver babies for the past 26 years and has witnessed at first hand the drop in fertility rate.
When she started work in 1985, live births stood at 5,587 compared with 4,126 in 2008, figures from the National Statistics Office show.
As the years rolled by, Ms Saliba said she noticed an increase in single mothers and a substantial rise in the number of children born outside wedlock.
In fact, figures show births outside marriage increased to 1,048 in 2008 from 367 in 1998.
She also noticed that married couples were having their first child later in life. Nowadays, many mothers were more prepared for what they were getting into as they read up on pregnancy.
Ms Saliba also noticed that as the birth rate dropped, inductions and Caesarean sections increased – the number of births through C-section increased by 16 per cent between 1995 and 2007.
Labour had become more “medicalised” and she missed the times when midwives could dedicate more time to mothers.
Midwives have long been saying that they would like to be more autonomous and follow the progress of a mother throughout the pregnancy and afterwards.
They are qualified to deliver a baby alone so long as there are no complications.