Malta's fertility rate drops to a new record low

Malta’s fertility rate remains at the bottom of the EU, dropping lower than rates previously reported, according to recent data.

In July last year, Times of Malta reported that Malta’s birth rate had dropped to 1.06 births per woman, citing a Eurostat report covering 2023.

But the most recent data published by Eurostat earlier this month shows that by 2024, Malta’s fertility rate had dropped further to 1.01 births per woman. This means that on average, each woman in Malta is having just over one child.

The latest figures come just months after the government announced a slew of tax incentives aimed at encouraging couples to have more children, including increasing children’s allowances and grants for couples having or adopting a child.

The recent results maintain a trend of Malta having the lowest birth rate in Europe, which has continued for almost decade – having remained the lowest since 2017, according to Eurostat.

The latest results put Malta's fertility rate at the lowest in the EU for the eighth consecutive year in a row.

Malta’s result puts it significantly below the EU average of 1.34 births per woman – a decrease from the bloc average of 1.38 the preceding year. In 2024, 3.55 million babies were born across the EU, a 3.3% decrease from the 3.67 million the preceding year.

In the latest budget announcement, the government unveiled a raft of measures to tackle the problem, which Finance Minister Clyde Caruana called the “greatest challenge of our time”.

Speaking in September – just days after Archbishop Charles Scicluna warned Malta faces “ethnic extinction” due to its low fertility rate – Caruana said the government wanted Maltese couples to have “at least two children”. 

He quoted statistics showing that three-fifths of families with one child chose not to have a second, asking: “Where will our population be in 50 years’ time? Will we be at a point of no return?”

Intent on addressing the issue, the government announced widened tax bands for parents along with a slew of other measures.

Children’s allowance was increased by €250 per child for families earning less than €30,000, and grants for those having or adopting a child increased by €500.

People having their first child now receive a €1,000 grant, with those on their second getting €1,500. Parents receive an additional €2,000 for every further child.

Parents also now receive an additional €75 In-Work Benefit grant per child, while those looking to adopt from overseas may receive a refund of up to €12,000, €2,000 more than previously offered. If they adopt locally, the refund will double from the previous €1,000 to €2,000.

Despite falling fertility rates, in the decade leading up to 2023, Malta saw the steepest population growth across the EU, increasing by a third, driven by the influx of foreign workers who have come to underpin many sectors of the economy.