World Factbook
Malta
Repubblika ta' Malta
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Languages
Maltese (official) 90.1%, English (official) 6%, multilingual 3%, other 0.9% (2005 est.)
Religions
Roman Catholic (official) more than 90% (2006 est.)
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
total population
1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.86 male(s)/female
Birth rate
7.67 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
8.65 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
42.4 years
total
42.1 years (2025 est.)
female
44.7 years
Population
male
271,180
total
521,828 (2025 est.)
female
250,648
Nationality
noun
Maltese (singular and plural)
adjective
Maltese
Tobacco use
male
23.9% (2025 est.)
total
22.1% (2025 est.)
female
20.2% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
94.9% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
14.5% (male 35,034/female 33,181)
15-64 years
62.4% (male 151,836/female 141,248)
65 years and over
23.1% (2024 est.) (male 50,153/female 58,278)
Ethnic groups
Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
54.1 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
21.2 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
3 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
32.9 (2025 est.)
Physician density
7.86 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
10.6% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
16.2% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
7.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
4.4 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.18 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
4.7% of GDP (2022 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
12.5% national budget (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
4.3 deaths/1,000 live births
total
4.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
4.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.65% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.57 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
most of the population lives on the eastern half of Malta, the largest of the three inhabited islands
Life expectancy at birth
male
81.5 years
female
85.8 years
total population
83.6 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
8 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
2.8 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
2.34 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
8.07 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.)
Major urban areas - population
213,000 VALLETTA (capital) (2018)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
28.9% (2016)
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
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
52% (2021 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
0.7% (2022 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
15 years (2023 est.)
total
16 years (2023 est.)
female
17 years (2023 est.)