KPMG calls for 'radical action' to address Malta's fertility decline
Demographic changes will shape Malta’s future, a new report warns
Malta must take “radical action” to reverse its population decline and safeguard the sustainability of its healthcare and education sectors, a KPMG report published on Wednesday warns.
The report, outlining Malta's economic outlook, points to Malta’s plummeting fertility rate, amongst the lowest in Europe, warning this will lead to “a smaller native workforce, and a much more skewed population pyramid towards older age brackets”.
This marks a significant threat to Malta’s welfare state, the report warns, “putting fiscal strain on public resources that could require pension reform”.
The report calls on Malta to look overseas for inspiration on how to tackle the fertility decline, saying “reversing population decline will require radical action”.
And Malta also needs to implement a strategy “to integrate and retain a skilled immigrant workforce,” the report says.
KPMG points to the healthcare sector as being particularly vulnerable to demographic changes, although Malta’s healthcare system has so far managed to keep up the pace with population growth.
In 2022, Malta had a healthcare professional for every 53 residents, the report notes, comfortably above the World Health Organisation’s recommended figure of a healthcare professional for every 400 residents.
This ratio has “remained relatively stable over recent years, as the number of healthcare professionals increased with the general population,” the report says, warning that efforts need to be taken for it not to “spiral out of control”.
Likewise, Malta’s education sector has successfully managed higher student enrolment figures, the report says, remaining well within international parameters for the number of teaching and academic staff per pupil.
However, “while Malta has a relatively healthy ratio in this regard, other indicators for quality of education should also be considered,” the report says, warning that quality of teaching needs to be maintained, particularly when facing an increasingly diverse student body.
“How Malta navigates these transitions will define its social and economic stability for generations to come,” the report says.