Just over 10% of residents in Sliema, St Julians, Gżira and Swieqi say they do not follow any religion, making those four localities the least religious towns in Malta. 

Malta’s most devoutly Catholic town is Santa Luċija, where almost 97% of residents describe themselves as Roman Catholic. Meanwhile, over 40% of residents in St Paul’s Bay are non-Catholic, making it Malta’s least Catholic town.

St Paul's Bay is also home to Malta's largest Orthodox community, at just under 16% of the town's total population.

Meanwhile, over one in ten residents in Marsa and Birżebbuġa are Muslim and almost a quarter of residents in Msida are either Hindu, Orthodox or Muslim.

Sliema is home to Malta's largest Jewish community, with just under 200 Jewish residents. A proposal to turn the town's former post office into a Jewish cultural centre is currently pending.

The information emerges from Census data released this week by the National Statistics Office. 

The census measured Malta’s increasing secularisation for the first time, finding that just over 5% of those aged 15 or older do not ascribe to any religion.

Only one-third of those, however, are Maltese, and it is therefore no surprise to see the country's most secular towns also ranking high when comparing localities according to their rate of foreign residents. 

Towns are now more diverse

Every town in Malta and Gozo saw an increase in its share of non-Maltese residents since the last Census in 2011.

Echoing other trends, the inner harbour towns of Msida, Gżira, Pietá and Sliema saw the largest influx of foreign nationals, with the number of non-Maltese residents growing by over a third in each. Msida alone saw a 45% increase in its foreign population, the highest rate in Malta.

Over half of Malta’s almost 8,000-strong Indian community resides in the Northern Harbour area, with the region also home to almost 6,000 Italians and 3,000 Brits. Malta’s Northern region has a strong Eastern European community, with over 2,500 Serbians and a further 2,000 Bulgarians or Albanians living in its towns.

This could explain why 16% of the population in St Paul's Bays is Orthodox Christian. 

Msida is Malta’s most ethnically-diverse town, with 20% of its population being Asian and a further 10% describing themselves as of Arab, African or Hispanic origin. Other towns with a high degree of ethnic diversity include Pietá, Marsa, Paola and, curiously, Żebbuġ Gozo, where almost 10% of the population is Asian.

Gozo’s foreign population has grown six-fold since 2011, with the island now home to over 7,500 non-Maltese residents. The largest proportion of these is British. Gozo also has a strong Albanian community, with almost one in four Albanians choosing to reside in Gozo.  

On the other hand, several rural or less-urbanised towns have remained largely populated by Maltese citizens. Fewer than 3% of residents in Dingli and Mtarfa are foreign, whilst Siġġiewi, Mqabba, Santa Luċija and Żejtun are all over 94% Maltese.

How have these changes impacted Maltese society?

Speaking to Times of Malta, sociologist and demography expert Maja Miljanic Brinkworth said the census findings point to “two dominant processes which were happening in Malta simultaneously in the past decade: a continuous flow of immigration to Malta and a sustained decline in the fertility rates of the Maltese population”.

Miljanic Brinkworth pointed to the challenges that emerged from these twin processes, including the “social inclusion and integration of the immigrant population, particularly those of a different racial and religious background” and the need to tackle Malta’s “lowest-low levels of fertility through a wider and better implementation of work-life balance measures and family-friendly policies”.

“Malta was always traditionally a country of emigration, however due to a set of well-known factors, Malta has become a country of strong immigration flows, which need to be managed and manageable”, she said.

According to Miljanic Brinkworth, demographic changes have resulted in drastic urban changes in towns such as Sliema, where the “majority of the local population was priced out of the property market, a vacuum in buy-to-rent properties now nicely filled in by the immigrant population mainly employed in the nearby e-gaming and fintech industries”. Other towns such as Valletta are “destined to a demographic decline unless radical approach is taken and its citizens listened to”.

She warned against what she described as the alarmism towards immigrants, arguing that “the benefits of immigration flows to Malta are well documented in all industries, from those employing highly-educated immigrants (such as financial services, e-gaming or health, to those where low-skilled immigrants are usually engaged”.

“Weaponisation of migration is counterproductive and actively engaging with the local population in understanding this demographic reality is a must”, she said.

Looking to the future, Miljanic Brinkworth said “Maltese fast demographic metabolism manifested by the increased secularisation, individualisation of financial security of both spouses, proliferation of the various, new family formation types and diversity brought about by the dynamic migration flows is set to continue in the years to come”.

In comments to Times of Malta,  a spokesperson for the Malta Sociological Association said that these demographic changes highlight the need to explore ways in which non-Maltese residents can be better represented in their localities.

"An investment in the active participation of non-Maltese residents will support a more cohesive society and encourage trust between the various elements of the community", they said.