Population ageing in Malta

From figures based on the 2005 Population and Housing Census for the Maltese islands, as at the end of December 2009, the population of Malta was estimated at 412,970, consisting of 205,419 males and 207,551 females. The proportion of those aged 60+ has been steadily increasing during the past 50 years, and in 2009 represented 22 per cent of the Maltese population, or 90,697 (NSO, 2010a) (see Figure 13.1).

According to the 2005 National Census, the mean age of the Maltese population was 49.43, while for the 1995 Census it was 35.73 (COS, 1997; NSO, 2007). This clearly shows the ageing process of the population. In the period between the two censuses, the 0-14 age group registered a decline of 11.1 per cent (from 74.9 to 66.6 thousand). Compared to this, the 15–59 and 60+ age groups recorded an increase of 2 and 20 per cent respectively. When one takes into account the fact that the Maltese population increased by only 1.8 per cent during 1995–2005, the increase in those aged 60+ clearly shows that the Maltese population is ageing fast. In fact, the older population is growing at a faster rate than the rest of the population.

Population projections show that this trend of population ageing will continue for a number of years to come. It is projected that, by 2025, 26.8 per cent of Malta's population, or 111,000, will be above the age of 60. This percentage is projected to increase to 123,000, constituting 31.3 per cent of the population by 2050 (COS, 1997; NSO, 2009).

Population ageing in Malta, as in other countries, has not only changed the very structure and composition of the total population, but has also altered the structure and composition of the older population itself, with the elderly population itself ageing very fast. Thus, between 1995 and 2008, those aged 60–74, the ‘young old’, increased by 37.3 per cent from 45.6 to 62.6 thousand, while those aged 75+, the ‘old old’, increased by 27.3 per cent from 19.8 to 25.2 per cent. It is projected that between 2008 and 2025, while the ‘young old’ will increase by 9.9 per cent, the ‘old old’ will increase by 40 per cent (COS, 1997; NSO, 2009).