Population Trends and Ageing Policy in Malta

Marvin Formosa

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19

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Population Trends and Ageing Policy in Malta

Marvin Formosa

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 2)

Received: 8 May 2013 Published: 10 June 2013

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Abstract

Malta is no exception to the unprecedented demographic changes that are being experienced by industrial countries. As a result of declining fertility and mortality levels, the Maltese islands have registered a decrease in fertility rates and a major improvement of life expectancy at birth. Following a brief introduction, the second section presents clear demographic data that outlines Malta’s gerontological transition, noting how the Maltese population has evolved out of a traditional pyramidal shape to an even-shaped block distribution of equal numbers at each cohort except at the top. The third section focuses on population projections for Malta which highlight how in the near future the nation will continue to experience a decline in the numbers and percentages of the younger and working age population, with the opposite effect with respect to older persons. The final section outlines Malta’s social policy on active ageing, as it related to labor issues, participation in society, and healthy, independent and secure living in later life. This part notes how to-date many older people already participate in and contribute to society in a variety of ways such as providing support to their families by caring for spouses or grandchildren, working as volunteers or paid employees, and in receipt of various health and social care services that enable ‘ageing in place’. The study concludes that although several inroads have been made in welfare ageing policies, further initiatives are warranted for older persons to lead active, successful, and productive lifestyles.

Published in	Social Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19
Page(s)	90-96
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Population Trends, Ageing Policy, Gerontology, Malta

References

[1]	NSO, Census of population and housing 2011: Preliminary report. Malta: NSO, 2012
[2]	NSO, Census of population and housing: Population. Malta: NSO, 2007.
[3]	NSO, Demographic review 2010. Malta: NSO, 2011
[4]	Eurostat, Health Life Years in 2011, Eurostat Newsrelease, 35, 2013.
[5]	Formosa, M., Ageing and social policy in Malta: Issues, policies and future trends. Malta: BDL, 2014.
[6]	European Commission, An agenda for adequate, safe and sustainable pensions, Luxembourg: Official Publications of the European Communities, 2012.
[7]	European Commission, The 2009 ageing report. Luxembourg: Official Publications of the European Communities, 2008.
[8]	WHO, Active ageing: A policy framework. Geneva: WHO, 2002 (p. 12).
[9]	Walker, A, Commentary: The emergence and application of active aging in Europe. Journal of Aging and Social Policy, 21(1): 75-93, 2009.
[10]	European Commission & United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Policy Brief: Introducing the Active Ageing Index. European Commission & United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 2013.
[11]	NSO. Labour force survey: Q4/2011. Malta: NSO, 2012.
[12]	Eurostat, Employment rate of older workers by sex. Accessed 12/08/12 from http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa. eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tsiem020, 2012
[13]	Eurostat, Effective labour market exit age (average exit age from the labour force). Accessed 12/08/12 from http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do? dataset=lfsi_exi_a& lang=en, 2012.
[14]	Hamblin, K.A. Active ageing in the European Union. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
[15]	Ekdahl,A., Fiorini, A., Maggi, S., Pils, K., Michel, J-P., and Kolb, G.. Geriatric care in Europe - the EUGMS Survey Part II: Malta, Sweden and Austria. European Geriatric Medicine, 3(6): 388-391, 2012.

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Marvin Formosa. (2013). Population Trends and Ageing Policy in Malta. Social Sciences, 2(2), 90-96. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19

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ACS Style

Marvin Formosa. Population Trends and Ageing Policy in Malta. Soc. Sci. 2013, 2(2), 90-96. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19

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Marvin Formosa. Population Trends and Ageing Policy in Malta. Soc Sci. 2013;2(2):90-96. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19,
  author = {Marvin Formosa},
  title = {Population Trends and Ageing Policy in Malta},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {2},
  number = {2},
  pages = {90-96},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20130202.19},
  abstract = {Malta is no exception to the unprecedented demographic changes that are being experienced by industrial countries. As a result of declining fertility and mortality levels, the Maltese islands have registered a decrease in fertility rates and a major improvement of life expectancy at birth. Following a brief introduction, the second section presents clear demographic data that outlines Malta’s gerontological transition, noting how the Maltese population has evolved out of a traditional pyramidal shape to an even-shaped block distribution of equal numbers at each cohort except at the top. The third section focuses on population projections for Malta which highlight how in the near future the nation will continue to experience a decline in the numbers and percentages of the younger and working age population, with the opposite effect with respect to older persons. The final section outlines Malta’s social policy on active ageing, as it related to labor issues, participation in society, and healthy, independent and secure living in later life. This part notes how to-date many older people already participate in and contribute to society in a variety of ways such as providing support to their families by caring for spouses or grandchildren, working as volunteers or paid employees, and in receipt of various health and social care services that enable ‘ageing in place’. The study concludes that although several inroads have been made in welfare ageing policies, further initiatives are warranted for older persons to lead active, successful, and productive lifestyles.},
 year = {2013}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Population Trends and Ageing Policy in Malta
AU  - Marvin Formosa
Y1  - 2013/06/10
PY  - 2013
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 90
EP  - 96
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19
AB  - Malta is no exception to the unprecedented demographic changes that are being experienced by industrial countries. As a result of declining fertility and mortality levels, the Maltese islands have registered a decrease in fertility rates and a major improvement of life expectancy at birth. Following a brief introduction, the second section presents clear demographic data that outlines Malta’s gerontological transition, noting how the Maltese population has evolved out of a traditional pyramidal shape to an even-shaped block distribution of equal numbers at each cohort except at the top. The third section focuses on population projections for Malta which highlight how in the near future the nation will continue to experience a decline in the numbers and percentages of the younger and working age population, with the opposite effect with respect to older persons. The final section outlines Malta’s social policy on active ageing, as it related to labor issues, participation in society, and healthy, independent and secure living in later life. This part notes how to-date many older people already participate in and contribute to society in a variety of ways such as providing support to their families by caring for spouses or grandchildren, working as volunteers or paid employees, and in receipt of various health and social care services that enable ‘ageing in place’. The study concludes that although several inroads have been made in welfare ageing policies, further initiatives are warranted for older persons to lead active, successful, and productive lifestyles.
VL  - 2
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Marvin Formosa

European Centre for Gerontology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Marvin Formosa. (2013). Population Trends and Ageing Policy in Malta. Social Sciences, 2(2), 90-96. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Marvin Formosa. Population Trends and Ageing Policy in Malta. Soc. Sci. 2013, 2(2), 90-96. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Marvin Formosa. Population Trends and Ageing Policy in Malta. Soc Sci. 2013;2(2):90-96. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19,
  author = {Marvin Formosa},
  title = {Population Trends and Ageing Policy in Malta},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {2},
  number = {2},
  pages = {90-96},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20130202.19},
  abstract = {Malta is no exception to the unprecedented demographic changes that are being experienced by industrial countries. As a result of declining fertility and mortality levels, the Maltese islands have registered a decrease in fertility rates and a major improvement of life expectancy at birth. Following a brief introduction, the second section presents clear demographic data that outlines Malta’s gerontological transition, noting how the Maltese population has evolved out of a traditional pyramidal shape to an even-shaped block distribution of equal numbers at each cohort except at the top. The third section focuses on population projections for Malta which highlight how in the near future the nation will continue to experience a decline in the numbers and percentages of the younger and working age population, with the opposite effect with respect to older persons. The final section outlines Malta’s social policy on active ageing, as it related to labor issues, participation in society, and healthy, independent and secure living in later life. This part notes how to-date many older people already participate in and contribute to society in a variety of ways such as providing support to their families by caring for spouses or grandchildren, working as volunteers or paid employees, and in receipt of various health and social care services that enable ‘ageing in place’. The study concludes that although several inroads have been made in welfare ageing policies, further initiatives are warranted for older persons to lead active, successful, and productive lifestyles.},
 year = {2013}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Population Trends and Ageing Policy in Malta
AU  - Marvin Formosa
Y1  - 2013/06/10
PY  - 2013
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 90
EP  - 96
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130202.19
AB  - Malta is no exception to the unprecedented demographic changes that are being experienced by industrial countries. As a result of declining fertility and mortality levels, the Maltese islands have registered a decrease in fertility rates and a major improvement of life expectancy at birth. Following a brief introduction, the second section presents clear demographic data that outlines Malta’s gerontological transition, noting how the Maltese population has evolved out of a traditional pyramidal shape to an even-shaped block distribution of equal numbers at each cohort except at the top. The third section focuses on population projections for Malta which highlight how in the near future the nation will continue to experience a decline in the numbers and percentages of the younger and working age population, with the opposite effect with respect to older persons. The final section outlines Malta’s social policy on active ageing, as it related to labor issues, participation in society, and healthy, independent and secure living in later life. This part notes how to-date many older people already participate in and contribute to society in a variety of ways such as providing support to their families by caring for spouses or grandchildren, working as volunteers or paid employees, and in receipt of various health and social care services that enable ‘ageing in place’. The study concludes that although several inroads have been made in welfare ageing policies, further initiatives are warranted for older persons to lead active, successful, and productive lifestyles.
VL  - 2
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download