Ahead of World Population Day tomorrow, the National Statistics Office (NSO) has published a news release about Malta’s population numbers. And guess what? We’re growing at quite the rate. Here’s what the report said, and some surprising facts, too!

1. Population numbers are up

The estimated total population of the Maltese Islands at the end of last year stood at 493,559, up by 3.8 per cent when compared to 2017's numbers.

2. Young vs Old

Persons under the age of 18 made up 16.2 per cent of the total population, while a further 18.7 per cent were aged 65 and over. Of these 2,889 persons (2,010 females and 879 males) were over 89.

3. Migration played a big part in the increase

The population increase in 2018 was largely due to net migration (immigration less emigration). Population increase was driven by a net migration of 17,102 persons, an increase of 17 per cent when compared to the previous year. Damn, that's a lot of movement.

4. Registered births have increased slightly

Resident live births registered during 2018 increased by 2.9 per cent over the previous year. There were approximately nine births for every 1,000 persons in 2018.

5. The average parenting age has risen

Over the past 10 years, the total fertility rate has decreased from 1.43 to 1.23, while the average age of parents who gave birth has increased from 28.6 years to 30.5 years, a notable change in society.

6. Death numbers also rose over the past year

Resident deaths rose by 3.3 per cent over the previous year. Of the 3,688 registered deaths during 2018, 64.4 per cent were persons aged 75 and over.

7. Life expectancy has risen by 2.8 years

The average life expectancy for those born in 2018 is 82.5 years, an increase of 2.8 years when compared to 10 years ago. Hear that? Seems like we'll be living a longer life, according to these stats!