Malta has the highest share of information and communication technologies graduates across Europe, with 8.5 per cent of all those completing tertiary education specialising in the field.

Eurostat said that while the European average of such graduates stood at 3.5 per cent, the rate for Malta two years ago was highest among the 28 Member States.

The second highest number of students specialising in ICT was in Finland, with 6.7 per cent of those completing tertiary education opting for the subject.

The data also shows that, as was the case in previous years, the ICT field is dominated by males.

Despite more efforts to encourage female students to IT courses in recent years, the 2015 figure was in fact lower than previous years.

On the other hand, courses at tertiary level focusing on agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary studies proved less popular among students in Malta, with only 0.2 per cent of graduates specialising in this area – the lowest share across Europe.

It was also revealed that almost five million tertiary students graduated in the EU in the year under review, just under one out of every six being women. In Malta, 45 per cent of graduates were male.

Apart from ICT, there were only two other male-dominated fields: engineering, manufacturing and construction and natural sciences, mathematics and statistics.

The same trend was also noted at EU level, where over 80 per cent and over 70 per cent of those completing courses in engineering, manufacturing and construction were male.

Overall, the highest number of graduates in Malta came from the business, administration and law fields, with 26.7 per cent of those who completed tertiary education specialising in related subjects.

Health and welfare courses as well as arts and humanities were equally popular among students, attracting 13 per cent of graduates.

Education was also popular among students in Malta, with 10.9 per cent of graduates taking up such studies.