76,063 Foreign Students Attended English language Courses In Malta In 2025

In 2025, Malta’s licensed English language sector recorded a slight decline in student numbers, according to the National Statistics Office.

A total of 76,063 foreign students attended courses across 34 English Language Teaching (ELT) schools, representing a decrease of 4,883 compared with 2024. Despite this drop, the sector remained active and internationally diverse.

Students mainly came from European Union countries, which accounted for 71.8% of the total.

The largest group was from Italy at 23%, followed by Germany at 10.6% and France at 10.4%.

Overall student participation measured in weeks increased slightly, reaching 262,255 student weeks, up by 5,387 compared with the previous year.

Almost all courses, 99.7%, were delivered in person, while online learning remained marginal at 0.3%. The average course duration rose to 3.4 weeks. Students from Colombia recorded the longest average stays at 12.1 weeks, followed by Chilean and South Korean students.

Younger learners formed a significant share of the market. The largest group was aged 15 and under, representing 29.2% of students, while those aged 16 and 17 accounted for 20.9%.

Female students made up 63.2% of the total, showing a clear gender imbalance in favour of women.

Seasonality remained a key feature, with July being the busiest month, accounting for 16.5% of annual attendance, followed by August and March.

In terms of courses, “General English: Standard” was the most popular option, chosen by 72.9% of students, while 19.2% opted for Intensive English programmes.

The sector employed 712 teaching and academic staff, with 67.7% being female, alongside 664 non-teaching staff, most of whom were employed full time.

#MaltaDaily