Malta’s fertility rate has dropped even further, cementing its position at the bottom of the European Union rankings for yet another year.
New data published by Eurostat shows that Malta’s fertility rate fell to 1.01 births per woman in 2024, down from the already low 1.06 recorded in 2023. This means that, on average, women in Malta are now having just over one child.
The latest figures mark the eighth consecutive year that Malta has recorded the lowest fertility rate in the EU, continuing a trend that has persisted since 2017.
Malta’s rate sits well below the EU average of 1.34 births per woman, which itself has declined from 1.38 the previous year. Across the bloc, 3.55 million babies were born in 2024 — a 3.3% drop compared to 2023.
The figures come just months after the Maltese government introduced a series of financial incentives aimed at encouraging couples to have more children.
These measures include:
An increase of €250 per child in children’s allowances for lower-income families
Higher grants for parents, with €1,000 for a first child and €1,500 for a second
An additional €2,000 for each subsequent child
Increased support for adoption, including refunds of up to €12,000 for overseas adoptions
Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has described Malta’s declining birth rate as the “greatest challenge of our time”, urging families to consider having at least two children.
His comments echoed concerns raised by Archbishop Charles Scicluna, who previously warned that Malta risks “ethnic extinction” if current trends persist.
Despite the falling fertility rate, Malta’s population has actually grown significantly over the past decade, largely driven by an influx of foreign workers supporting key industries.
However, with more couples choosing to stop at one child, or not have children at all, questions remain over whether government incentives will be enough to reverse the trend.
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