Most priests ordained in Gozo did not remain there but moved abroad, according to the NSO.

A special profile on the diocese was released by the statistics office yesterday to mark the 150th anniversary of the Gozitan Church’s administration.

It said that two-thirds of the 22 priests ordained in Gozo over the past 10 years lived overseas. This is a significant change from previous decades when the situation was reversed. In the 1990s, just a quarter of Gozitan priests lived overseas. In the 1980s, 90 per cent lived in Gozo.

The Gozitan diocese was established by Pope Pius IX on September 16, 1864. The following week, Mgr Michele Francesco Buttigieg was chosen as the first Gozo Bishop.

Since its foundation, the diocese has had eight bishops, including Mgr Mario Grech, and two apostolic administrators.

About 173 priests were registered in Gozo in the last 50 years; a third are still alive.

Victoria produced a third of all Gozo’s priests with Għasri having the smallest number of vocations: five.

The NSO said those living in Gozo 150 years ago accounted for 11.5 per cent of the Maltese islands’ population. The latest census puts Gozo’s share at 7.5 per cent.

In absolute terms, however, Gozo’s resident population more than doubled, standing at 31,375 today as compared to 14,416 in 1864 and bringing Gozo’s population density closer to that of the mainland.

During the same period, the population of Malta more than trebled, reaching 386,057 from 101,513.