Men outnumbered women in 2014 for the first time in over at least a century of record-keeping, a new demographic review published by the National Statistics Office has revealed. 

The review found that there were 126 more men than women in Malta at the end of 2014, with 214,735 males and 214,609 females making up a total population of 429,344.

It found that while religious ceremonies still made up a 51.7 per cent majority of the 2,871 marriages celebrated in 2014, civil ceremonies were close behind at 48.3 per cent. 

Life expectancy at birth was 82.1 years, with women's life expectancy more than four years greater than men's, at 84.3 years compared to 79.8 years. 

Circulatory diseases were the most common cause of death, causing 37.6 per cent of all deaths. Tumours, at 28.5 per cent, were the second most common cause of death. 

Other key points from the demographic review include: 

• the fertility rate of the total population stood at 1.42 whereas the rate for the Maltese population stood at 1.37
  
  
• There were 622 separations and 399 divorces registered during 2014. 84.5 per cent of those divorces involved marriages that had lasted for at least 10 years
  
  
• 5 boats carrying 565 irregular migrants reached Maltese shores in 2014, with almost a quarter of these migrants being Syrian
  
  
• A quarter of Malta's population is over 60 years old, while 17.6 per cent are under 18
   
• 6.4 per cent of Malta's population is foreign
  
  
• Birkirkara, Mosta and St Paul's Bay are Malta's three largest localities in terms of population. Mdina, with 233 residents, is the smallest