Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1535522
11 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 MAY 2025 decline by almost one-seventh by 2050 among Maltese women has increased over time, it still lags behind that of men and of foreign women in Malta. Still, the situation with regard to labour shortages would have been much worse had Malta not seen a strong rise in female participation in the labour market, thanks to government incentives. By 2024, more than half of women aged between 15 and 74 were active in the la- bour market, up from a third in 2005. Go- ing forward, the female participation rate is expected to continue rising in the medi- um term, reaching around 67.0%. In con- trast, the increase in the male participa- tion rate has been much smaller and has actually declined among younger cohorts, due to a decrease in the number of people leaving school at an early age to work. But who is a Maltese native? The report which refers to Malta born people as "natives" reflects current trends in which the majority of foreign workers are male and stay in Malta for short peri- ods, with little motivation to become Mal- tese or raise a family in the country. Moreover, the share of foreign persons beyond working age remains small be- cause most foreigners in Malta settle for a short period of time to work and then re-migrate. Furthermore, figures cited in the report do not include foreigners who acquire Maltese citizenship through naturalisa- tion, as this data is not readily available. The report acknowledges that this may affect population levels in the future, es- pecially if more foreigners remain in Mal- ta for longer periods. Notably, the number of projected births in the report includes only those born to native Maltese wom- en. This excludes a significant number of births to women of foreign nationality re- siding in Malta—children who grow up in the country and are effectively natives too. Additionally, the report assumes that the retirement age will not increase be- yond 65. However, it notes that improve- ments in the health of older individuals and working environments requiring less physical effort "could entice more persons to remain longer in employment, even in the absence of an increase in the pension age". Moreover, technological advancements in digitalisation and artificial intelligence could reduce the need for steep increases in the labour supply to sustain economic growth. Nevertheless, the report concludes that the growth in both Malta's working-age population and labour supply "is expected to be fully driven by the number of for- eign nationals and their high participa- tion in the labour market". This is likely to lead to "challenging choices" on how to increase the labour supply to keep pace with a growing economy—especially since sustaining recent population growth into the foreseeable future will likely re- quire further investment in the country's infrastructure. Foreign nationals made up 28% of the population and accounted for 31.8% of the working-age population (File photo) The report stresses that efforts to counteract low fertility trends should favour balancing the family and career choices of both men and women (File photo) "The share of foreign persons beyond working age remains small because most foreigners in Malta settle for a short period of time to work and then re- migrate."