76% of households had no dependent children – Census

by Gozo News · January 19, 2024

76% of households had no dependent children - Census The National Statistics Office (NSO) said that the third and last volume of the Census of Population 2021, have been published today.

It found that the majority of households (76.1%) had no dependent children, marking an increase from 65% in 2011.

The volume is titled Census of Population and Housing 2021: Final Report: Health, Education, Employment and other characteristics

The NSO explained that he Census of Population and Housing is a form of national stocktaking which provides a complete count of the population and living quarters, which was most recently conducted in November 2021.

The salient points are:

• The majority of households (76.1%) had no dependent children, marking an increase from 65% in 2011. The most prevalent household type was the single-person household, characterised by individuals aged 30- 64 years, with 18.1%.

• A total of 6,378 households were comprised of single parents with one or more dependent children, an increase of 922 households compared to ten years before.

• 11,073 individuals or 2.5% of individuals aged 16 and over identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or having a different sexual orientation. This rate was over three times higher among non-Maltese nationals (5.5%) compared to the Maltese (1.6%).

• Over half of the female population aged 16 and over, were either married or in a civil union (50.4%). A greater proportion of single males emerged, constituting 42.8% compared to 34.5% for females.

• The count of mothers totalled 139,223, constituting 64.2% of the female population aged 15 and over. Among them, 14,491 were single.

• The mean age at which mothers experienced their first live birth was 25.9 years, reflecting a one-year rise from the 2011 figure of 24.9 years. This was found to be highly correlated to the age and level of education of the mothers.

• A total of 129,132 individuals (26% of persons aged 5 or more) suffered from a long-term illness, disease, and/or chronic condition – a 6-percentage-point rise compared to the preceding Census held in 2011.

• While Maltese remained the predominant language across all age groups of Maltese nationals, nearly a quarter of those under 10 years and 14.7% of those aged 10 to 19 years considered English their primary language from early childhood.

• The highest rates of Maltese nationals aged 5 years or more speaking English from early childhood were found in Swieqi (37.7%), Sliema and San Giljan (just over a quarter) and Mdina (24.1%).

• In 2021, the literacy rate reached 95.7%, resulting in 20,453 individuals classified as illiterate. Luqa (89.4%), Bormla (89.8%) and Marsa (89.9%) had the lowest rates, whereas Swieqi (98.8%), Balzan (98.1%) and Attard (98%) recorded the highest ones.

• The shift towards higher education continued to materialise with all categories from the attainment of an upper secondary level being higher compared to 2011. Almost a quarter of the persons aged 15 or more were in possession of a tertiary level compared to 14.1% in 2011.

• Over the past decade, there has been a noteworthy rise in the number of employed persons, which includes individuals aged 15 years or older, increasing from 171,855 to 273,955.

• The count of persons taking care of the house and/or family decreased from 80,493 (constituting 22.6% of those aged 15 and above) in 2011 to 60,242, comprising 13.3% of the same demographic in 2021.

• Regarding the nature of occupations, gender disparities persisted. Males predominantly held positions as professionals (16.4%), technicians and associate professionals (14.9%), and craft and related trade workers (13.7%). Females were primarily employed as service and sales workers (25.7%), professionals (24%), and clerical support positions (14.2%).