Malta’s Fertility Rate Falls Below 1 Child Per Woman: The Lowest In The EU

Malta is having fewer children than ever, and the numbers are becoming difficult to ignore.

According to the Central Bank of Malta’s latest analysis of Eurostat population projections, Malta’s fertility rate was estimated at just 1.01 children per woman in the EUROPOP2025 base scenario, the lowest in the European Union.

And the latest official population data paints an even starker picture.

The Central Bank notes that NSO figures subsequently placed Malta’s 2025 total fertility rate at just 0.98 children per woman.

That means, on average, Malta is now below one child per woman; far below the level required for a population to replace itself naturally from one generation to the next.

The decline has also been rapid.

Between 2017 and 2025, Malta’s fertility rate fell by an average of around 4% per year, with the Central Bank saying that a lower fertility path remains a likely trajectory in the very near term.

Eurostat’s latest projections have therefore significantly downgraded Malta’s expected fertility compared with previous estimates.

The change alone translates into an estimated 16,730 fewer people over the projection horizon compared with the previous demographic assumptions.

And while fertility is expected to recover gradually in the baseline scenario, even that recovery would not be enough to counteract Malta’s ageing population without continued migration.

In other words: Malta’s population might still be growing, but increasingly, it isn’t babies driving that growth.

#MaltaDaily