Recent population reports show Malta’s fertility rate is in decline. An article in The Economist went as far to say the Maltese population might not make it to the next millennium.
The key to addressing Malta’s shrinking population may lie in revising immigration policy so that migrants are employed and possibly granted residency in the interest of the economy, according to two academics.
The desired number of children in a family is a private matter and the government does not interfere
“The future of Malta will probably rely on immigrants for certain types of occupations, and this will increase the proportion of younger people in the population,” economist Lino Briguglio said.
It would be important to ensure Malta attracts migrants who can contribute to the economy and not draw out resources without contributing, he said.
According to government consultant and Pensions Working Group chairman David Spiteri Gingell, Malta must implement a holistic framework of pro-natal policies – to revive dropping birth rates to levels that counter the projected phenomena of an ageing and shrinking population – or “give considerable thought to the introduction of an immigration policy directed to revitalise Malta’s population”.
The country would need a mix of policy tools that include a targeted immigration and residential policy directed at engaging foreigners to address current and future skill needs to allow further economic growth, he said.
Anthropologist Mark Anthony Falzon pointed out that people would have to revisit their concept for nationalism.
“Nationalism is essentially a political idea which makes much use of biological and temporal metaphors,” he said.
“In this case, we come to project ‘the Maltese’ backwards and forwards in time. We come to imagine ‘ourselves’ as the descendants of primordial populations... and the ancestors of future ones. The trick is in the imagined continuity, or lack of it. Nations live off imagined pasts and futures,” he said.
EU figures showed that, on average, the EU’s fertility rate in 2009 stood at 1.6 per woman, an increase over 1.47 registered in 2003. However, the fertility rate for Maltese dropped to 1.44 from 1.48 per woman in 2003.
However, population statistics issued in Brussels showed that Malta’s population last year grew by 3,200 people – mainly because of immigration.
While the Maltese population registered a natural growth of 1,000, (4,000 newborns vs 3,000 deaths), a total of 2,200 migrants arrived.
So, how would the dropping fertility rate impact Malta?
Prof. Briguglio said the proportion of older people will increase in relation to working age people. This will lead to major problems relating to the funding of the pension scheme.
The government is currently evaluating a report drawn up by the Pensions Working Group recommending a mandatory private pension scheme targeted at those under 45 and the introduction of the second pillar pension.
“The problem is already with us and it is currently being addressed by increasing the age when a worker is entitled to a pension. In practice, this will increase the proportion of those contributing to, rather than drawing from, the pension funds.
“However, the problem will probably persist, unless more women and immigrants join the labour force,” he said.