Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/943656
10 maltatoday SUNDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2018 St Paul's Bay Tas-Sliema Birzebbuga Msida St Julian's Gzira Swieqi Mellieha Marsaskala Birkirkara San Gwann Naxxar Mosta Marsa Tal-Pietà Hal Balzan Hamrun Hal Qormi Paola Santa Venera Ta' Xbiex Haz-Zabbar H'Attard Rabat Hal Luqa Fgura Haz-Zebbug Pembroke Valletta Zebbug Xaghra Zurrieq Victoria Hal Lija Siggiewi Floriana Zejtun News 8515 6688 3988 3825 3550 3440 2969 2250 1927 1642 1638 1075 1003 748 681 630 591 546 530 445 418 395 374 346 326 320 304 287 266 242 237 233 202 190 182 177 170 A growing number of foreigners taking up residence in towns and villages across Malta is contributing to a more diverse country but also creating new challenges for community leaders, KURT SANSONE reports A growing foreign legion ST Paul's Bay was described as the "most com- plex" locality in a 2012 study that looked at the seaside town's changing social fabric. The study that formed part of former National- ist MP Censu Galea's MA thesis highlighted the locality's rapid expansion driven by a growing number of foreigners living there. But if St Paul's Bay was a complex locality then, it is even more now. Population estimates re- leased by the National Statistics Office last week showed that 37% of people living in St Paul's Bay by the end of 2016 were foreigners. The locality's population was estimated at 23,112, making it the largest town in Malta, sur- passing Birkirkara that held that title for many years. Of those living in St Paul's Bay, 8,515 were foreign nationals – this is equivalent to the whole population of Siggiewi. But the seaside locality is not alone to experi- ence an influx of foreign residents. The smaller localities of Gzira and Msida came just after St Paul's Bay with 35% of residents living there being foreigners. In Sliema, the 6,688 foreigners living there made up 34% of the locality's population. All seven localities along the northern harbour coastline, starting from Pieta all the way to Swie- qi, make the top 10 localities with the highest density of foreigners. St Paul's Bay and Mellieha are the two locali- ties in the north that make the top 10 list, while Birzebbuga is the only southern locality to feature among the top with foreigners making up 32% of its population. The NSO figures show that by the end of 2016 it was estimated that 54,321 foreigners lived in Malta, making up 12% of the population. Over the past five years the number of foreign- ers moving to Malta has grown exponentially in line with an expanding economy that has been clamouring for more labour. This has brought with it several challenges at lo- cal level, especially in towns where the density of foreigners is the highest. Gzira mayor Conrad Borg Manche told Mal- taToday the influx of foreigners is a very recent phenomenon in his locality. With an estimated population of 9,806, Gzira had 3,440 foreigners living there at the end of 2016, according to the NSO. Borg Manche said the council was trying to find ways and means of including foreign residents in the community but this was not an easy task. By the end of 2016 it was estimated that 54,321 foreigners lived in Malta, making up 12% of the population Foreign populations in each single Maltese town and village, ranked from highest to lowest. St Paul's Bay, Msida, Gzira, Sliema, Birzebbugia and St Julian's have the highest concentrations (see figure, page 11), with foreign residents now accounting for one in every three residents SOURCE: National Statistics Office