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Malta

MT

Southern Europe

Malta is home to 2 documented ethnic groups in Southern Europe — led by Maltese (~77%), Malta Other (~23%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
MalteseMaltese77.0%National Statistics Office Malta 2021 Census; Maltese citizens (~77%, ~410,000+ of ~535,000 total). Predominantly Roman Catholic. Speaks Maltese (a Semitic-Arabic-derived language with substantial Italian and English loanwords, the only Semitic language written in Latin script) plus English and Italian
Malta OtherMalta Other23.0%Malta 2021 Census; non-Maltese residents (~23%, ~125,000+); predominantly British (~13,000+, the historic British-Maltese community), Italian, Bulgarian, Filipino, Indian, Romanian, plus substantial post-2010s immigration

Malta Phenotype Profile

Malta has a Maltese-majority structure (~77%) plus substantial post-2010s foreign-resident population (~23%). The Maltese phenotype distribution closely matches broader Southern Mediterranean source populations.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Malta population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights derived from National Statistics Office Malta 2021 Census.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.National Statistics Office Malta. Census of Population and Housing 2021. Valletta: NSO; 2022.
  2. 2.Mallia-Milanes V (ed). Hospitaller Malta 1530-1798. Mireva; 1993.
  3. 3.Cassar C. A Concise History of Malta. Mireva; 2000.
  4. 4.Frendo H. Storja ta' Malta. Klabb Kotba Maltin; 1986.
  5. 5.Capelli C, Onofri V, Brisighelli F, et al. Moors and Saracens in Europe: estimating the medieval North African male legacy in southern Europe. Eur J Hum Genet. 2009;17(6):848-852.

Other countries in Southern Europe

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring Southern Europe nations, weighted by demographic composition.

Browse all Southern Europeethnic groups & countries →