Malta saw the steepest rise in population in the EU in a decade despite having the 27-country bloc’s lowest fertility rate, according to recently published Eurostat figures.

Between 2013 and 2023, Malta’s population increased by almost a third, and nearly all of that growth is due to migration.

Between January 2013 and 2023, the EU’s population rose 7.5 million (or 1.7%); net inward migration was the driving factor behind this growth.

The rate of population increase during this period was highest in Malta and Luxembourg, with their populations increasing overall by around a quarter (28.3% and 23%, respectively).

Population numbers fell in 10 countries, according to the publication 'Key Figures in Europe - 2024 edition'.

At the other end of the range, the biggest decreases in percentage terms were in Bulgaria (down 11.5%) and Croatia (down 9.6%).

National Statistics Office figures published earlier this month show that Malta’s population reached 563,000 by the end of 2023, after growing by nearly 21,000 in the space of a year.

Between 2013 and 2023, Malta’s population increased by almost a third. Photo: Eurostat

Few applied for asylum in Malta last year, with around 100 applications for every 100,000 inhabitants. This figure is lower than the EU average of 240 per 100,000.

Malta has the lowest fertility rate in the EU, with women, on average, giving birth once in their lifetime. While Malta’s birth rate is 1.08, France has a total fertility rate of 1.79 live births per woman.

Malta’s unemployment rate in 2023 was 3.1 per cent, well below the EU average of 6.1 per cent. Only Poland and the Czech Republic had lower unemployment rates.

The figures also show that almost none of the crops produced in Malta are organic, with only 0.6 per cent of Malta’s fields designated as organic crop areas – this is the lowest in the EU.

Malta also has the least forest coverage among the EU’s 27 states, with only 1.5 per cent of the country covered in forest.