Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1475578
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 AUGUST 2022 NEWS Msida The locality with largest foreign majority 2011 2021 Inhabitants/sq.km 4,125 4,488 Average age 41.5 38.6 % under 14 15.6% 14.3% % of population over 65 18.2% 12.2% % not Maltese 9.5% 55.1% Total population 7 , 7 4 8 13,587 THE percentage of foreigners has dra- matically increased from 10% in 2011 to 55% a decade later. Moreover, while Msi- da's Maltese population has decreased by 917 people, the number of foreigners living in the town has increased by a stag- gering 6,756 people. This influx has also rejuvenated Msi- da's population whose average age has fallen from 42 to 39 years in the past decade. But this is not reflected in the number of children being raised in the locality. In fact, the percentage of un- der-14s in the locality has fallen from 16% in 2011 to 14% now. But the increase of foreigners, whose average age is lower than that of the Maltese population in general, is also re- flected in a decline of over-65s from 18% to 12% in the same time-frame. Moreo- ver, Msida's growth coincides with that of neighbouring Pietà and Gzira, both of which have seen a dramatic increase in their population mostly thanks to the influx of foreigners. With foreigners becoming a majority in Gżira, Msida and St Paul's Bay, one is bound to ask whether third-coun- try nationals should be given a vote in council election, to instil a greater bond between foreign communities and the local population. St Paul's Bay Malta's new largest town 2011 2021 Inhabitants/sq.km 1,129 2,206 Average age 39.7 39.1 % under 14 15% 12.3% % over 65 14.5% 12.4% % not Maltese 18.4% 53.9% Total population 1 6 , 3 9 5 32,042 ST Paul's Bay has overtaken Birkirkara as Malta's largest town, with its popula- tion nearly doubling from 16,395 in 2011 to 32,042 in 2021. This represents a ver- itable demographic explosion when one considers that back in 1995 the town's population amounted to just 7392, four times less then today. The number of Maltese residents has in- creased by 1,496 over 2011, in an indica- tion that the town still attracts migration from other localities, probably because of cheaper rents. But the town has also seen an increase of 14,259 in the number of foreigners who now constitute 54% of the locality's population. And despite being one of Malta's largest localities in terms of space as it includes swathes of ODZ countryside, its densi- ty has now doubled from 1,128 to 2,206. This remarkable growth also raises ques- tions on whether the town's various 'ham- lets' like Qawra, Xemxija and Burmarrad deserve recognition as separate towns, in a bid to make to improve governance in this sprawling town. The increase of foreign workers living in the town is also reflected in a de- crease of both children and over-65s, with the proportion of both segments declining from 15% to 12%. Zebbug Gozo's own St Paul's Bay 2011 2021 Inhabitants/sq.km 244 437 Average age 39.5 41.2 % under 14 16.5% 12.8% % over 65 16.2% 17.3% % not Maltese 6.8% 41.5% Total population 1,841 3,303 THE Gozitan locality of Zebbug which also includes the sprawling Marsalforn seafront has seen its resident population nearly doubling from just 1,841 in 2011 to 3,303 in 2021, thanks to an increase in the locality's foreign population from 125 to 1,371. The number of Maltese residents in Zebbug has also increased by 216. But foreigners now account for 42% of Zebbug's population up from 7% ten years ago. Zebbug's growth mirrors that of Munxar which includes Xlendi, which has also seen its foreign population in- crease from 94 to 619. Gozo in general has seen a sevenfold in- crease in the number of foreign residents; from 1,357 to 7,662 since 2011. On the other hand, the number of Maltese na- tionals in Gozo has grown marginally by 1,607. 26% of foreigners in Gozo live in Zeb- bug and Xlendi. Zebbug has now become Gozo's sixth largest locality surpassing Sannat which was more populous ten years ago. Rabat, which has grown by 990 residents since 2011, remains Gozo's largest town, followed by Xagħra which had already surpassed Nadur as Gozo's second largest city in 2011. The census preceded the approval of a number of five-storey blocks enveloping towns like Qala and Xagħra, which are bound to further increase the density of the is- land which has already increased from 422 inhabitants per sq.km in 1995 to 572 inhabitants per sq.km in 2021. Msida's growth coincides with that of neighbouring Pietà and Gzira, both of which have seen a dramatic increase in their population mostly thanks to the influx of foreigners Zebbug has now become Gozo's sixth largest locality surpassing Sannat which was more populous ten years ago. Rabat, which has grown by 990 residents since 2011, remains Gozo's largest town Marsaskala Msida