The number of motorbikes on Maltese roads has increased by a staggering 53 per cent since the start of 2014, as four-wheeled traffic continues to choke roads in traffic. 

Figures released on Wednesday by the National Statistics Office revealed that there were slightly 24,606 licensed motorcycles by the end of 2017. That compares to 16,102 four years before, at the start of 2014. 

In comparison, the number of passenger cars has increased by 13.7 per cent over that same period of time. 

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Motorbikes now make up 6.6 per cent of the 372,061 licensed motor vehicles on Maltese roads. 78.5 per cent - almost four in every five - were passenger cars, with a further 13.6 being commercial vehicles.   

Three out of every five vehicles runs on petrol, with the remaining being diesel-powered. 

36 more vehicles every day

The NSO figures show how the number of vehicles on Maltese roads continued to rise throughout 2017, with an average of 36 added to roads every day that year. 

That number fell slightly to 30 per day during the last quarter of the year, when the number of licensed vehicles increased by 3.7 per cent when compared to the same quarter the previous year. 

New licences in December

The NSO found that of the 5,889 new licences issued in the final quarter of 2017, almost 40 per cent were handed to brand new vehicles. The vast majority of new licences - 75.1 per cent - were for passenger cars. 

During that same quarter, 6,687 vehicles were taken off the road. 40.4 per cent of these were put up for resale, 29.7 per cent were garaged and 27.7 per cent were scrapped. 

Correction: A previous version of this story cited figures from March 2014, rather than the start of that year. The figures have now been amended to reflect the four-year period to the end of 2017 in its entirety.