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14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 AUGUST 2021 NEWS MALTA got its first autonomous govern- ment 100 years ago, a time when a rail- way and trams still operated and Valletta housed more than 22,000 people. In 1921, Malta and Gozo's population stood at 212,258, which grew to 215,437 when British military families were in- cluded. There were 153 men and only three women attending university and the av- erage wage for someone working in the trade and manufacture sector amounted to £90 per year. In that year, Britain spent almost half- a-million Sterling for the military protec- tion of Malta. The country was served by five daily newspapers and no less than nine weekly publications. This is the picture painted in numbers by the Malta Blue Books, a collection of historical statistical information held by the National Statistics Office. The infor- mation provides a detailed breakdown of the country's vital stats. MaltaToday leafed through the statistics from 1921 to gain some insight on what living in Malta meant a century ago. Population: Living around the port The 1921 Census recorded a population of 212,258 of which 52% were women. The major population centres were con- centrated around the Grand Harbour and Sliema. Valletta was home to 22,392 people, a far cry from the 5,891 who call the cap- ital home today. Sliema had a population of 14,362, while Bormla had 11,536 res- idents. These three localities alone accounted for 23% of people living in Malta back then. The Hamrun-Marsa-Santa Venera con- urbation was considered as one in the Census, with a combined population of 17,182. Gozo had a population of 22,561. But the Blue Book also sheds light on how some of the place names were writ- ten at the time. Marsaxlokk was written as Marsascirocco, Mqabba as Micabiba, Naxxar as Naxaro and Mdina referred to as Notabile. The population figures show that there were 7,688 births in 1921, including 350 still-born babies. This contrasts with the 4,523 babies born last year to a much larger population. Malta registered 4,833 deaths in 1921 and 1,306 marriages. Statistics for immigration show that a century ago 4,007 Maltese returned to live in Malta from abroad while 2,606 em- igrated to other countries. Election: Businessman at the helm A general election to elect members of the legislative assembly took place on 18 and 19 October, a Tuesday and Wednes- day. The data shows that there were 27,104 eligible voters of which 20,634 voted. Suf- frage was limited to men and the single transferable vote system was used. Mgr Ignazio Panzavecchia's Unjoni Politika Maltija emerged as the largest party and businessman Joseph Howard, who contested with Panzavechia's par- ty, was made first minister. He was also treasury minister, equivalent to today's finance minister. Howard led the first autonomous Mal- tese government until 1923 with the sup- port of Col Willie Savona's Malta Labour Party that held seven seats in the assem- bly. Elections for the senate were held on the 5 and 6 October 1921. From the 3,405 voters, eligible to choose the seven elect- ed seats on the senate, 2,800 voted. The election returns were recorded in the Blue Book for 1921. Religion: Malta cattolicissima The data leaves no doubt as to the predominance of the Roman Catholic Church, which had 210,000 followers and 353 churches around Malta and Gozo. The records give a breakdown of the type of churches: two cathedrals, 46 parochial churches, two vice parochial churches and 260 other churches in Malta; and one cathedral, 13 parochial churches and 29 other churches in Gozo. The Catholic Church received £72 in as- sistance from public funds. But the figures show that protestant de- nominations had around 2,000 followers with churches in Valletta and Sliema. The Greek-orthodox Church had around 200 followers with a church in Valletta, while the number of Jews was insignificant, although they had a place of worship in Valletta. Education: A boys' world The university campus in Msida is to- day a sprawling village with almost 12,000 students but 100 years ago the student population at university was a meagre 176, of which only three were women. Education appears to have had little im- portance beyond the elementary school years. While the figures show that 22,390 stu- dents attended elementary school, only 2,384 continued their studies at second- ary school level. And from those attend- ing secondary school, 57% were boys. A breakdown of figures shows that in secondary school, the vast majority at- tended 'private schools', otherwise re- ferred to today as church schools. How- ever, while there were 17 'private schools', there were only three government sec- ondary schools – the Lyceum for boys and a secondary school for girls in Malta; and one secondary school for boys in Vic- toria, Gozo. While 1,111 boys and 931 girls attend- ed private secondary schools, only 309 boys and 193 girls attended government schools. In Gozo, no girls attended secondary school and the 40 boys who did get a sec- ondary education, did so in the govern- ment school. At elementary level, there was less of a disparity between genders with the num- bers showing that 52% of students were boys. Government elementary schools could be found in practically every locality thus ensuring free education for the masses. The figures show that 87% of elementa- POPULATION Malta and Gozo: 212,258 Valletta: 22,392 Sliema: 14,362 Bormla: 11,536 Hamrun-Marsa- Santa Venera: 17,182 Gozo: 22,561 Births: 7,688 (350 still-born) Deaths: 4,833 Marriages: 1,306 SCHOOLS University: 176 students (173 male, 3 female) Secondary: 2,584 students (1,460 boys, 1,124 girls) Elementary: 22,390 students (11,600 boys, 10,790 girls) ELECTION 27,104 eligible voters for legis- lative assembly election 3,405 eligible voters for senate election Travelling back a whole century may be impossible, but we may get glimpses of the past through books, old documents and storytelling. Kurt Sansone leafed through the numbers recorded in the Malta Blue Books to understand how Malta was in 1921 How we were 100 years ago