The estimated population of Malta and Gozo reached 588,254 people at the end of 2025, representing an increase of 2.4% compared with the previous year, according to figures published by the National Statistics Office ahead of World Population Day on 11 July. The figures provide a detailed picture of population change, migration, births, deaths, citizenship and population density across the Maltese Islands.
The NSO reported that males accounted for 53.3% of the population, with 313,692 males and 274,562 females recorded at the end of the year. Malta’s population has continued to increase considerably over recent years. In 2008, the estimated population stood at 410,926, meaning the number of residents has grown by more than 177,000 since then.
Migration remained the main contributor to Malta’s population growth during 2025. The NSO recorded 32,744 immigrants and 18,838 emigrants, resulting in net migration of 13,906 people. The office stated that net migration was “the main contributor to population growth in 2025”.
Non-EU citizens made up 27.8% of total net migrants and accounted for 62.5% of total net migration. While net migration increased by nearly one-third compared with 2024, the NSO reported that both immigration and emigration decreased during the year.
The figures also show changes in Malta’s natural population growth. Resident live births decreased by 0.8% compared with 2024, with 4,338 births recorded in 2025. Of these, 2,230 were boys and 2,108 were girls. The largest number of parents who gave birth were aged between 30 and 34.
At the same time, resident deaths increased by 1.4% to 4,240. Of the deaths recorded during 2025, 71.5% involved people aged 75 or over. The combination of fewer births and more deaths caused Malta’s natural increase — the difference between births and deaths — to fall significantly.
The natural increase dropped from 193 people in 2024 to just 98 in 2025. According to the NSO, this represented “a 49.2 per cent decline when compared to 2024”.
Malta’s population is also increasingly diverse in terms of citizenship. At the end of 2025, 68.9% of the total resident population were Maltese citizens, while 31.1% were non-Maltese citizens. This translates to 405,561 Maltese citizens and 182,693 foreign citizens.
The NSO said the Maltese population was relatively evenly distributed across age groups between 30 and 79. In contrast, the non-Maltese population was “predominantly working age”, with 22.1% aged between 20 and 29, 34.8% aged 30 to 39 and 18.7% aged 40 to 49.
Regional differences were also recorded. The Western district had the highest proportion of Maltese citizens at 85.4%, followed by the Southern Harbour district at 79.3% and the South Eastern district at 79.2%. The Northern Harbour and Northern districts recorded the highest proportions of foreign citizens, at 43.9% and 38.8% respectively.
The Northern Harbour district had the largest population, with 188,162 residents, followed by the Northern district with 111,339. The Southern Harbour had 91,297 residents, the South Eastern district 85,038, the Western district 70,625, while Gozo and Comino had 41,793 residents.
Population density remained particularly high in central and harbour localities. Tas-Sliema recorded 18,186 residents per square kilometre, followed by Tal-Pietà with 16,346 and L-Isla with 15,060. At the other end of the scale, L-Għasri recorded just 104 residents per square kilometre, followed by San Lawrenz with 226 and L-Imdina with 227.
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