Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
National Statistics Office Lascaris Valletta VLT 2000 Malta
1.6. Contact email address
Restricted from publication
1.7. Contact phone number
Restricted from publication
1.8. Contact fax number
Restricted from publication
2.1. Metadata last certified
24 June 2026
2.2. Metadata last posted
24 June 2026
2.3. Metadata last update
24 June 2026
3.1. Data description
First results on the main demographic developments in the year of reference.
3.2. Classification system
Not applicable.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Not applicable.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Definitions are based on the usual residence concept and are described in Sections 3.4.1 to 3.4.3.
3.4.1. Residence definition for data sent to Eurostat
See sheet 3.4.1 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
3.4.2. National definition
See sheet 3.4.2 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
3.4.3. Deviation of national definition from the definition used in data sent to Eurostat
See sheet 3.4.3 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
3.5. Statistical unit
Number of persons.
3.6. Statistical population
See sheet 3.6 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
3.7. Reference area
Data are available only at national level of geographical detail.
3.8. Coverage - Time
See concept 5.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Counts of statistical units.
The reference date for population data is the end of the reference period (midnight of 31st December).
The reference period for vital events data is the calendar year in which the events occurred.
The reference period for migration flow data is the calendar year in which the migration occurred.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Not applicable.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Micro data is collected in terms of the Malta Statistics Authority Act in which Part VIII - Use of Records of Public Authorities and protection of collected information stipulates that:
All information furnished by any person, undertaking or public authority under this Act shall be used only for the purpose of statistical compilation and analysis.
No information obtained in any way under this Act which can be related to an identifiable person or undertaking shall, except with the written consent of that person or undertaking or the personal representative or next-of-kin of that person, if he be deceased, be disseminated, shown or communicated to any person or body except:
for the purposes of a prosecution for an offence under this Act, or
to officers of statistics in the course of their duties under this Act.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Not applicable as only aggregate figures are published. Micro data is requested from Public Authorities in terms of the Malta Statistics Authority Act and used internally for statistical purposes only.
8.1. Release calendar
NSO is a member of the Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS) Committee, which sets dissemination standards set by the International Monetary Fund with a view of enhancing the availability of timely and comprehensive statistics in order to support macroeconomic policies. As a member of the SDDS Committee, NSO satisfies a number of criteria, which also entails the provision of an advanced news release and publication calendar.
NSO adheres to internal policies directly related to the users' access to statistical data; one of which being a Dissemination Policy. Due to the importance of the area of demographic statistics, it is imperative that statistics are made available to all users, as soon as possible. In some cases, these statistics are provided on provisional basis and are therefore subject to revisions.
Data is published on an annual basis.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
First annual national estimates concerning demographic trends during 2025 are released to coincide with World Population Day.
This section shows the links to national methodology reports and reference metadata files available on-line concerning the supplied data.
See sheet 10.6 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
Refer to 10.6.
11.1. Quality assurance
Many efforts are made by NSO in order to ensure the production of demographic statistics at high quality standards. Measures that are implemented during the analysis stage include: > thorough checks on the administrative registers used for the compilation of vital events; > thorough checks on the administrative data used for the compilation of migration flows; > checks for double counting; > validation and cross-checking of results with auxiliary sources and past year's data, including census results.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
NSO has access to comprehensive, high quality administrative sources for the calculation of vital events. Measuring migration flows is far more difficult, since in Malta, there is no register that can fully cover all migration flows. In view of this, the estimation of migration statistics in Malta is mainly done using different administrative sources. On the other hand, data that cannot be extracted from these registers is estimated through appropriate mathematical models. Although this procedure suffices to provide reliable migration statistics, it is still prone to errors (e.g., double counting, over-estimation of migrants, user-reporting due to later registrations, etc.), which can hardly be quantified.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Demographic statistics are often sought by many different users:
Internal use: High quality population statistics are essential for the calculation of the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Moreover, they are essential for estimating probabilities of selection in survey sampling and hence the calculation of weights.
National users include: Ministries, Government departments and Authorities working within the social and economic spheres; research institutes, University of Malta, other policy makers, etc.
International users include: Eurostat; OECD; UNECE; European Commission's Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion, etc.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
In 2025, NSO carried out another cycle of the user satisfaction survey among all those who made use of the NSO online request form or subscribed to the NSO news releases. The survey is in line with similar surveys carried out at a European level. News releases highlighting results from this enquiry can be downloaded from: NSO Malta | User Satisfaction Survey - NSO Malta.
12.3. Completeness
Refer to 11.2.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
See sheet 13.1 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
13.2. Sampling error
See sheet 13.2 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
13.3. Non-sampling error
See sheet 13.3 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
14.1. Timeliness
Data is compiled and sent to Eurostat within the deadlines stipulated by the Regulation. Data is made available to users shortly afterwards either from NSO or Eurostat.
14.2. Punctuality
So far, all deadlines have been met and news release calendar has always been respected.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Data is fully comparable.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Total population levels are available from the year 1998. Breakdowns by single years of age are available from the year 2009.
See sheet 15.2 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Coherence tests are not possible, since this is the only source of population statistics compiled using the strict definition of usual residence.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Coherence tests are not possible, since this is the only source of population statistics compiled using the strict definition of usual residence.
Not applicable.
17.1. Data revision - policy
Not available.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Population and migration statistics pertaining to the years 2005-2011 have been revised during 2013 further to the provision of the Census 2011 results. These revisions were necessary in order to align updates of population counts with the 2005 and 2011 census data, and therefore avoid breaks in time series.
Benchmarking revisions were undertaken in 2017 for the estimation of migration flows. A News Release was published in order to present the revised figures.
Population revisions for reference years 2012 - 2021 have been conducted following the results of the 2021 Census of Population and Housing (available online at NSO Malta | Population and migration: 2012-2022 (including intercensal revisions) - NSO Malta). These intercensal revisions are necessary in order to align updates of the poulation counts between the two census periods. The estimates from 2022 onwards are based on the revised 2021 base.
18.1. Source data
This section provides a list of data sources used for the first reference year and any subsequent changes thereto, to produce data.
See sheet 18.1 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Yearly.
18.3. Data collection
See 18.1.
18.4. Data validation
See 11.1.
18.5. Data compilation
All demographic indicators are calculated at national level and all aggregates use a common methodology.
DEMOGRAPHIC INDICATORS
Demographic balance - is the equation that describes the change in the size of the population due to the flows of live births, deaths, immigration and emigration that occur in the reference year T.
Vital events are compiled from administrative sources.
Net migration - the difference between the number of immigrants and the number emigrants during the year (net migration is therefore negative when the number of emigrants exceeds the number of immigrants).
Population[T] = Population[T-1] + Births[T] - Deaths[T] + Net Migration[T]
where:
Population[T] = total population on 31st December of the year T;
Population[T-1] = total population on 31st December of the previous year T-1;
Births[T] = total number of live births occurring during the year T;
Deaths[T] = total number of deaths occurring during the year T;
Net Migration[T] = net migration during the year T.
Migration flows are calculated using the following components:
Maltese citizens
Immigration of Maltese citizens is calculated based on figures extracted from the most recent Census of Population and Housing using the information collected regarding residence one year prior to the Census. Using figures resulting from the Tourstat border survey, the change observed between the year when the census has been undertaken and the reference year is applied on the Census figures.
Emigration of Maltese citizens is calculated based on the figures resulting from the Tourstat border survey for Maltese citizens travelling from Malta. The duration of trip is analysed and an average number of persons who intend to stay away from Malta for 12 months and over of the past 3 years is calculated.
EU citizens
Immigration of EU citizenss is calculated based on the figures of engagement forms presented by the Jobsplus for the reference year in question. These are then linked to the termination of employment data in order to remove persons who have not been in employment for at least 1 year. The data is then checked with the ID Card database (CDB) in order to remove persons who were registered in Malta prior to the reference year.
Emigration of EU citizens is calculated based on the termination of employment data. Therefore persons who terminated their job and have not been re-employed are considered as emigrants.
Both immigration and emigration of the dependents of EU Nationals are calculated based on a factor extracted from the EU citizens registrations notifying their residence in Malta from the Residence Permits database.
Non-EU citizens
Asylum Statistics:
Immigration: The database held at the International Protection Agency is used to extract persons who submit a first application for asylum in the reference year. As of reference year 2022 first applicants for asylum are being included in the in flows. As of reference year 2023, persons granted temporary protection in the reference year that were still in the valid stock by the end of the year were also included in the in flows.
Emigration: Includes non-EU citizens previously been granted protection status who have been resettled, repatriated or relocated during the reference year. As of reference year 2022 all first applicants for asylum who had their application rejected, withdrawn or deemed inadmissable are also being included as out flows of the population. Those who were granted temporary protection in 2022 but had it withdrawn in 2023, were also included.
Residence Permits:
Immigration of non-EU citizens is calculated based on the permits which hold a duration of at least 1 year based on the database managed by the Expatriats Unit - Identita.
Emigration of non-EU citizens includes persons whose permit has not been extended and who have had a viable permit for more than a year. The database is managed by the Expatriats Unit - Identita.
First results on the main demographic developments in the year of reference.
24 June 2026
Definitions are based on the usual residence concept and are described in Sections 3.4.1 to 3.4.3.
Number of persons.
See sheet 3.6 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
Data are available only at national level of geographical detail.
The reference date for population data is the end of the reference period (midnight of 31st December).
The reference period for vital events data is the calendar year in which the events occurred.
The reference period for migration flow data is the calendar year in which the migration occurred.
See sheet 13.1 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
Counts of statistical units.
All demographic indicators are calculated at national level and all aggregates use a common methodology.
DEMOGRAPHIC INDICATORS
Demographic balance - is the equation that describes the change in the size of the population due to the flows of live births, deaths, immigration and emigration that occur in the reference year T.
Vital events are compiled from administrative sources.
Net migration - the difference between the number of immigrants and the number emigrants during the year (net migration is therefore negative when the number of emigrants exceeds the number of immigrants).
Population[T] = Population[T-1] + Births[T] - Deaths[T] + Net Migration[T]
where:
Population[T] = total population on 31st December of the year T;
Population[T-1] = total population on 31st December of the previous year T-1;
Births[T] = total number of live births occurring during the year T;
Deaths[T] = total number of deaths occurring during the year T;
Net Migration[T] = net migration during the year T.
Migration flows are calculated using the following components:
Maltese citizens
Immigration of Maltese citizens is calculated based on figures extracted from the most recent Census of Population and Housing using the information collected regarding residence one year prior to the Census. Using figures resulting from the Tourstat border survey, the change observed between the year when the census has been undertaken and the reference year is applied on the Census figures.
Emigration of Maltese citizens is calculated based on the figures resulting from the Tourstat border survey for Maltese citizens travelling from Malta. The duration of trip is analysed and an average number of persons who intend to stay away from Malta for 12 months and over of the past 3 years is calculated.
EU citizens
Immigration of EU citizenss is calculated based on the figures of engagement forms presented by the Jobsplus for the reference year in question. These are then linked to the termination of employment data in order to remove persons who have not been in employment for at least 1 year. The data is then checked with the ID Card database (CDB) in order to remove persons who were registered in Malta prior to the reference year.
Emigration of EU citizens is calculated based on the termination of employment data. Therefore persons who terminated their job and have not been re-employed are considered as emigrants.
Both immigration and emigration of the dependents of EU Nationals are calculated based on a factor extracted from the EU citizens registrations notifying their residence in Malta from the Residence Permits database.
Non-EU citizens
Asylum Statistics:
Immigration: The database held at the International Protection Agency is used to extract persons who submit a first application for asylum in the reference year. As of reference year 2022 first applicants for asylum are being included in the in flows. As of reference year 2023, persons granted temporary protection in the reference year that were still in the valid stock by the end of the year were also included in the in flows.
Emigration: Includes non-EU citizens previously been granted protection status who have been resettled, repatriated or relocated during the reference year. As of reference year 2022 all first applicants for asylum who had their application rejected, withdrawn or deemed inadmissable are also being included as out flows of the population. Those who were granted temporary protection in 2022 but had it withdrawn in 2023, were also included.
Residence Permits:
Immigration of non-EU citizens is calculated based on the permits which hold a duration of at least 1 year based on the database managed by the Expatriats Unit - Identita.
Emigration of non-EU citizens includes persons whose permit has not been extended and who have had a viable permit for more than a year. The database is managed by the Expatriats Unit - Identita.
This section provides a list of data sources used for the first reference year and any subsequent changes thereto, to produce data.
See sheet 18.1 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
Data is published on an annual basis.
Data is compiled and sent to Eurostat within the deadlines stipulated by the Regulation. Data is made available to users shortly afterwards either from NSO or Eurostat.
Data is fully comparable.
Total population levels are available from the year 1998. Breakdowns by single years of age are available from the year 2009.
See sheet 15.2 in the annex at the bottom of the file.
