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5.12.19 5 NEWS THE National Statistics Office's Key Figures for Malta: Visuals and Words presents a selection of relevant statis- tics that reflect the Maltese society, the economy and the environment. e reference year for the data includ- ed in the publication is 2018 and when- ever possible a time series of data going back to 2008 is presented. Whenever this was not possible a min- imum of five years of data is made avail- able. People and society e end of year population in 2018 was 493,559 of which over 83,000 were foreigners. In 2008, foreigners were 4 per cent of the resident population while by 2018 this figure had gone up to 18 per cent. In 2018, the employment rate for males and that for females (aged 15- 64) stood at 81 and 61 per cent re- spectively. e employment rate for females ad- vanced by 23 percentage points since 2008, while the increase for males was of 8 percentage points. Over the same period, the unemploy- ment rate dropped by 2.3 percentage points. During academic year 2016-2017, the student population totalled 80,293. Year-on-year, students aged 25 and up- wards increased by 9 per cent, while students in tertiary education increased by 5 per cent. In 2018, the number of persons living in households who were either at risk of monetary poverty, or severely material- ly deprived or experiencing a low work intensity were 88,777. is is equivalent to 19 per cent of pri- vate households. In 2018, over 2.5 million tourists vis- ited Malta, most of whom for holiday purposes. Year-on-year tourism num- bers are on the increase, yet the average length of stay has dropped by 1.3 nights since 2009. 26 per cent of males and 23 per cent of females declared that they perceive their health status as being very good in 2018. Both figures are lower than the ones reported in 2008. Persons 65 years and over who view their health as very good increased by 3 percentage points since 2008. Economy and business GDP at current prices was €12.3 billion in 2018. e economy in nominal terms grew by 9 per cent when compared with 2017. Household expenditure (+7.4 %) and government expenditure (+12.6%) where the largest contributors to GDP growth. e general government's fiscal posi- tion for 2018 showed a positive balance of €236 million. e government's fis- cal position has improved significantly since 2008, at the time a deficit of €256 million was present. e surplus re- corded in 2018 was equivalent to 1.9 per cent of GDP. In December 2018, the average rate of inflation was of 1.49 per cent when compared with December 2017. Price changes year-on-year were significantly noticeable in food (in- cluding restaurant services and take away), housing and beverages and to- bacco. e statistical business register count- ed 49,046 active business units in 2017, 20 per cent more than in 2007. Enter- prises employing 250 persons, and more were 81 in 2017 and cumulatively they employed 42,451 employees. International trade in goods resulted in a trade deficit of €2.9 billion in 2018, meaning that the country imported more than it exported. On the other hand, the services sector achieved a trade surplus of €4 billion." Environment Greenhouse Gas net emissions in CO2 equivalent for 2017 were 2,155 kilo tonnes and were 21 per cent lower when compared to the average for the 2007-2017 tome series. In 2017, over 294,000 tonnes of mu- nicipal waste were generated, 10 per cent more than the 2013-2017 average. Most waste is landfilled however mate- rials recycling increased by 8 per cent over the average of the time series. In 2018, 198,587 megawatt-hours of local electricity generated came from renewable sources. In most cases the source of renewable energy was photo- voltaic cells. is figure is 15 per cent higher than the one recorded in 2017. e estimates producer value of fruit and vegetables was €39.4 million in 2018 and was 10 per cent less than the preceding year. In 2018, 2,564 tonnes of fish were land- ed, 15 per cent more than in 2017. In the most part the local catch was made up of Pacific chub mackerel, Common dolphinfish and swordfish. 2018 in figures: Malta GDP grew by 12% over 2017 The general government's fiscal position for 2018 showed a positive balance of €236 million. The government's fiscal position has improved significantly since 2008, at the time a deficit of €256 million was present. The surplus recorded in 2018 was equivalent to 1.9 per cent of GDP

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