How many people live in Malta, and who they are

The figure you’ll find almost everywhere is out of date. Both the EU’s country page and Spain’s foreign ministry give 574,250, but that’s Malta’s population at the end of 2024. The NSO, Malta’s statistics office, counted 588,254 on 31 December 2025. And behind that number sits a story that, to my mind, explains the Malta you’ll actually find better than any other.

Malta’s population in 2026

On 31 December 2025, 588,254 people lived in Malta, 14,004 more than a year before, growth of 2.4%. Of those, 405,561 held Maltese nationality and 182,693 were foreign nationals, 31.1%. Nearly all of them live on the main island, which accounts for 546,461, leaving 41,793 on Gozo and Comino. Density across the country is 1,867 people per square kilometre, rising to 2,218 on the island of Malta. I put that into perspective in how big is Malta.

A country that grew 40% in thirteen years

This is what strikes me most in the data. In 2012 Malta had 421,464 residents, only 23,365 of them foreign nationals. By 2025 the total had grown by 40% and foreign residents had multiplied almost eightfold. Maltese nationals, meanwhile, barely moved, from 398,099 to 405,561. Practically all the growth has come from outside.

You notice it on the coast. In 2025 foreign residents outnumbered Maltese in Pietà, Gżira, Msida, St Julian’s, Sliema and St Paul’s Bay. In St Paul’s Bay, which is also the largest locality in the country with 43,095 people, foreign nationals make up 65%. The full breakdown by town is in towns and villages in Malta.

Where do people live?

This is where many visitors are surprised. The capital, Valletta, has just 5,189 residents, fewer than the 5,635 it had in 2012. The big towns are on the coast and in the middle of the island, St Paul’s Bay, Birkirkara (30,166), Mosta (25,845) and Sliema (23,570). The Northern Harbour district, around Sliema and Birkirkara, holds 188,162 people at 7,836 per square kilometre.

At the other end of the scale is Mdina, with 201 residents, the smallest locality, and on Gozo, Għasri, with 519. Senglea, on the Grand Harbour, reaches 15,060 people per square kilometre, the highest density in the country.

Maltese, foreign nationals and visitors

People from Malta are Maltese, which is also the name of the language. The NSO file I used groups residents as Maltese or foreign without splitting them by country, so I can’t give an official figure for British residents.

Two other numbers help with scale. In 2025 Malta welcomed 4,022,310 tourists, roughly seven for every resident, and 76,063 foreign students took English courses at its 34 licensed language schools. If you’re wondering which languages you’ll hear in the street, I cover that in the language of Malta.

What this means for your trip

My practical reading is simple, and it runs through my whole Malta travel guide. The island of Malta is small and very full, especially in the strip from Valletta to St Julian’s. That has upsides, with frequent buses, restaurants close at hand and services everywhere, and it has a price in traffic and a heavily built-up coast. If you want calm, you’ll find it in the west, in the interior around Mdina, and above all on Gozo, at under a third of the main island’s density.

Seven tourists for every resident

Residents are only part of the crowd. According to the NSO, 4,022,310 tourists arrived in 2025, spending 25.4 million nights in the country and €3,904.4 million, about €971 each. Even December, a quiet month, brought 225,104, up 17% on a year earlier. Gozo and Comino received 589,343 tourists, but 67.4% were Maltese from the other island. My takeaway is that in high season the main island feels far busier than its 546,461 residents suggest, so book early. That goes double for July and August, the airport’s two busiest months. In Malta, the census figure and the feel on the ground in August can be two very different things, and it pays to plan for the second.