Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1524527
11 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 26 JULY 2024 NEWS Average salary in 2022 stood at around €20,000 - NSO MALTESE residents working on a full-time basis in 2022 num- bered 245,059, registering an in- crease of 8.6% over the previous year, the report shows. Data shows 81.6% of Maltese residents worked in the private sector, while 66% of Gozo and Comino residents are employed by the private sector. 17,702 Gozo and Comino residents have a fulltime job, an increase of 5.7% when compared to the previous year. The highest proportion of full- time employment in the Mal- ta region was registered in the wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcy- cles, transportation and storage, accommodation and food ser- vice activities, which accounted to 24.5% of the total. Full-time males in the Gozo and Comino region were pre- dominantly employed in the wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcy- cles, transportation and storage, accommodation and food ser- vice activities while females were mainly employed in the public administration and defence, compulsory social security, edu- cation, human health and social work activities. Population and households In 2022, Malta's population stood at 542,051, with persons aged between 30 and 39 ac- counting for the highest share of the population. The highest percentage in- creases were observed in the age cohorts of 30 to 39 and 40 to 49 years in the Malta region. In contrast, Gozo and Comino experienced the highest per- centage increase in the 30 to 39 cohort, followed by the 70 to 79 age group. The highest increases in the foreign population occurred within the population of 30-39 years of age in both Malta and Gozo. Natural population change was uninterruptedly positive year- on-year for the Malta region while Gozo and Comino region had a negative natural popula- tion growth rate for 2021 and 2022. In 2022, old age-dependency ratio in Malta stood at 27.1%, therefore there is approximate- ly four working-age adults for every person aged 65 years or more. 2,546 marriages were registered in Malta in 2022. This reflects an increase of 270 marriages when compared to 2021, with an in- crease of 271 marriages regis- tered in Malta region.There was one marriage less registered in the region of Gozo and Comino compared to the previous year. The most common household size for people living in the Mal- ta region was the two-person household, while in Gozo and Comino region was the one-per- son household in the NSO's study. The average household dispos- able income was highest in the South Eastern district at €42,855 and lowest in the Northern Har- bour district, €29,852. Persons at-risk-poverty rates for the regions of Malta and Gozo and Comino were 16.8% and 15.1% respectively. Transport Licensed vehicles in Malta amounted to 438,567, with the largest proportion recorded in the Northern Harbour district in 2023, according to the report. In 2023, passenger cars account- ed for 73.8% of total licensed ve- hicles. Driving license holders amounted to 277,837, an increase of 0.4% over 2022. The Northern Harbour district registered the largest number (26.1%). Gozo and Comino district accounted for 9.6% of the total. In 2023, reported traffic ac- cident increased by 4.5% over 2022, with 35.8% of total acci- dents recorded in the Northern Harbour district. Birkirkara was the locality with the highest rate of traffic acci- dents, with 1,084 cases, followed by Ħal Qormi and San Pawl Il- Baħar. Traffic-related contraventions issued by Police decreased by 11.1% from 2022, while those issued by Wardens decreased by 6.8%. Most of these contraven- tions were issued in the North- ern Harbour district. San Pawl il-Baħar recorded the highest number of contraven- tions issued by Wardens, total- ling 17,872, whereas San Ġiljan had the highest count of con- traventions issued by Transport Malta, amounting to 4,953. In 2023, speed camera contra- ventions totalled 41,410. The camera which caught the most over-speeding vehicles was the one installed at the Naxxar Coast Road, totalling 7,457 con- traventions. In 2022, old age-dependency ratio in Malta stood at 27.1% THE challenges faced by Gozitan tourist operators, and the oppor- tunities to enhance further this important tourism sector for the Island's economy, were discussed at length during a meeting be- tween President of Malta Myri- am Spiteri Debono and the Gozo Tourism Association Council. This meeting was held during a visit by Debono to the offices of the GTA in Victoria. It was a fol- low up of the first meeting held between the President and the GTA at San Anton Palace late in May, 2024. Debono thanked the associ- ation for its endeavours in the Gozitan tourist sector, saying that its achievements in the past 25 years had contributed to- wards a sustainable tourist sec- tor on Gozo. The Chairman of the GTA, Paul Scicluna thanked Debono for fol- lowing the work being carried out by the Association as well as for her interest in the course of the tourist sector development on the island. President Debono in courtesy visit to Gozo Tourism Association President Myriam Spiteri Debono (second left) with the Gozo Tourism Association council