Malta People 2024, CIA World Factbook
Population
467,138 (2023 est.)
Nationality
noun: Maltese (singular and plural)
adjective: Maltese
Ethnic groups
Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock)
Languages
Maltese (official) 90.1%, English (official) 6%, multilingual 3%, other 0.9% (2005 est.)
Religions
Roman Catholic (official) more than 90% (2006 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years: 14.53% (male 34,870/female 32,989)
15-64 years: 62.83% (male 151,927/female 141,561)
65 years and over: 22.65% (2023 est.) (male 48,830/female 56,961)
2023 population pyramid: 
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 47.1
youth dependency ratio: 19.3
elderly dependency ratio: 27.7
potential support ratio: 3.6 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 43.2 years (2023 est.)
male: 42.1 years
female: 44.4 years
Population growth rate
0.59% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
9.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Population distribution
most of the population lives on the eastern half of Malta, the largest of the three inhabited islands
Urbanization
urban population: 94.9% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
213,000 VALLETTA (capital) (2018)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
29.3 years (2020 est.)
note: data refers to the average of the different childbearing ages of first-order births
Maternal mortality ratio
3 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 4.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 83.4 years (2023 est.)
male: 81.3 years
female: 85.6 years
Total fertility rate
1.51 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.74 (2023 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
N/A
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
10.8% of GDP (2020)
Physicians density
2.86 physicians/1,000 population (2015)
Hospital bed density
4.5 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
28.9% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 8.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 2.8 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 2.34 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 2.51 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.42 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 24% (2020 est.)
male: 26.4% (2020 est.)
female: 21.6% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
N/A
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
63.2% (2023 est.)
Education expenditures
5.9% of GDP (2020 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.9%
male: 93.4%
female: 96.4% (2021)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 17 years
male: 17 years
female: 18 years (2020)
NOTE: The information regarding Malta on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Malta 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Malta 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.