The 2011 population and housing census that is being taken between Monday and December 4, with census day being November 20, is the 17th in a series of decennial censuses since the first one taken in March 1842. This series was interrupted during World War II and in the period 1967-1985, when no censuses were carried out.
The 1842 census had enumerated 100,157 persons living in Malta and 14,342 residing in Gozo. Both the fertility rate and the death rate were very high.
Past censuses that were carried out on a de facto basis included the British servicemen and their families stationed in Malta as part of the population.
Before 1842, there are historical indications going back to as early as the 12th and 13th centuries, of a number of population counts based on sources that are sometimes doubtful and misleading.
In the year 1530, when the knights hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem took possession of the islands, the number of inhabitants was stated to be about 15,000. During this period several population counts were taken in connection with the importation of grain from Sicily.
An important development in the field of demographic statistics in several European countries and in Malta followed the Council of Trent (1545-1563) directives to parish priests to keep a set of registers referred to as the status animarum (state of souls). In Malta, these registers were already in use in several localities. The censuses taken in 1590, 1614, 1617 and 1632 could have been based on these registers.
At the time of the French invasion in 1798, the total population of Malta and Gozo was estimated at over 100,000.
During the last century, three censuses were of particular significance. Taken after the end of World War II, the 1948 census illustrated how the “way of life” of the population had changed. It also provided the government with valuable information for its reconstruction programmes and other socio-economic statistics. The enumerated population, which included the wives and children of British servicemen, stood at 305,911, of whom, 27,680 lived in Gozo.
The census taken in 1967 demonstrated the success of the government’s policy of mass emigration to stem population growth while the 1985 census, that was taken after 18 years, pointed out the discrepancies that existed in our demographic statistics, corrected our population age pyramid and triggered discussion on the elderly portion of the population that had been substantially underestimated in our statistics. Soon after, in 1987, the government appointed a Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly.
Beyond local legislation (the 1948 Census Act), the 2011 census is being carried out in accordance with EU regulation 763/2008. For the first time, this regulation provides for the collection, compilation and dissemination of comparable census data for all European Union member states. The National Statistics Office has again adopted the traditional method of census enumeration or the use of household questionnaires.
All persons who normally reside in Malta and Gozo, including those who may be on holiday or temporarily away due to work, study or medical reasons, have to be enumerated at the place where they normally reside.
Special emphasis is also being laid on the collection of household social statistics, such as legal marital status, educational background, type of work and place of work and cases of permanent disabilities/difficulties. No question is being asked on earned or unearned income.
Part two of the questionnaire is devoted to housing data such as whether the residence is owner-occupied or rented, the type, structural condition and size of the dwelling and its construction period and some of the facilities (like air conditioning, central heating and other amenities) that are found in the dwelling. Vacant dwellings will also be recorded by the enumerators.
Enumerators will visit all households during the census period.
In case of difficulties, one can contact the NSO on freephone 170 or send an e-mail to census2011@gov.mt.
The census is an essential stock-taking of Malta’s most valuable asset: its people. It is an expensive exercise and your part and cooperation is indispensible for its success.
The author is chairman of the Malta Statistics Authority.