In 10 years, the number of dwellings in Malta increased by a third, but all-year occupancy continued to hover around 70%. Census data released last week gives us an idea of the changes that went on inside these dwellings. Sarah Carabott reports.
Over the past decade, more people installed air-conditioning units at home and joined the online world, however, fewer invested in environmentally friendly facilities such as wells and solar water heaters.
And as the years rolled by and houses became smaller, more people opted to live on their own.
According to national data collected for the 2011 census, the average household size was 2.7 people. Back then, a total of 34,637 – or 22.6% of private households – were occupied by just one person.
Ten years later, the average number of people in main residential dwellings stood at 2.4%. The upward trend in single-member residences persisted, accounting for 70,123 individuals – or one-third of the total. Around another third were two-member households, while the remaining households had either three or four members.
The two most prevalent facilities installed in houses were air conditioning systems and the internet, both seeing a considerable rise over 2011.
Air conditioning was present in 84% of residences – up from 52.1% in 2011. Percentages spanned from 57.3% in Mdina to over 90% in Swieqi and Attard.
When it comes to the internet, this increased from 68.3% in 2011 to 88% across all districts in 2021. In this instance, the figures varied from 76.4% in Mdina to over 93% in Pembroke and Attard.
However, the installation of solar water heaters in main residences was slightly lower than the 2011 figures: it dropped from 10.5% in 2011 to 7% in 2011.
Solar water heaters were especially prevalent in Gozo and Comino, accounting for 16.7%, while the remaining districts exhibited nearly half that percentage.
San Lawrenz recorded the highest percentage at 30.5%, while Valletta’s rate was below 1%.
Likewise, the presence of a well (25.6%) was also lower than the rate recorded in 2011, which back then was 35.9%. The Western district had the highest rate at 39%, while the Northern Harbour district had the lowest, standing at 16.8%. Mdina topped the list with 58.4%, while Gżira ranked last with less than 6%.
PV panels, meanwhile, gained popularity, seeing an increase from 2% in 2011 to 12.4% on 2021, with Gozo and Comino again leading at 22.3%.
The 2021 data shows that nearly a quarter of the main residential units were inhabited by non-Maltese – up from just 4% 10 years earlier.
Another 4% were shared by Maltese and non-Maltese residents.
This means that the percentage of dwellings occupied solely by Maltese dropped from 93% in 2011 to 72% in 2021.
And while a third of the Maltese lived in flats or penthouses, a significant 82% of non-Maltese resided in flats or penthouses, with just 4% residing in terraced houses.
Despite the lower number of dwellings with non-Maltese occupants compared to those exclusively inhabited by Maltese residents, the distribution of flats or penthouses is comparable for both groups. Specifically, 54.7% of flats were occupied by Maltese residents, while 40.3% were occupied by non-Maltese residents.
Home ownership in numbers
Nearly three-quarters of Maltese people owned their primary residences, while 41.4% of non-Maltese owned them freehold.
77.4% of non-Maltese individuals held contracts lasting less than two years, in contrast to 26.1% of Maltese individuals.
71.1% of Maltese residents who rented their residences were bound by contracts lasting three years or more in contrast to 15.9% of non-Maltese.
The median monthly rent for furnished homes by non-Maltese individuals (€750) exceeded that paid by Maltese individuals (€645).
A total of six individuals were identified as primary homeless, meaning they live in the streets without a shelter that falls within the scope of human habitation.