Malta

Malta banner

Malta (MT)

Malta flag
ECRML
Signed
1992
Ratified
(PENDING)
In Force
(PENDING)
FCNM
Signed
1995
Ratified
1998
In Force
1998
Country Description
Malta regularly conducts national language censuses, with the last one taking place in 2021. Data by the Maltese National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that while Maltese remained the predominant language across all age groups of Maltese nationals, nearly a quarter of those under 10 years and 14.7 per cent of those aged 10 to 19 years considered English their primary language from early childhood. There is no official national data on the number of Sign Language users in Malta; the number of deaf Sign Language users is estimated to be around 200.
Pan-National Official Language(s)
This category only includes languages that are official throughout the whole country (with the exception of Belgium) - languages that are e.g. regionally 'co-official' are not listed here but can be identified in the categories below wherever a relevant legal document is listed. A future update could include lists of co-official languages, as well. To increase their visibility, recognised Sign Languages are always listed as official languages even if they are not yet technically official. The data on legal recognition was aggregated from legal documents and official sources. Wherever possible, the national number was taken from a national census or recent study/official estimate – sources are listed. The endangerment level is adopted from Ethnologue and further estimates of endangerment can be found on the individual language profile (e.g. by clicking on 'Italian').
Language Endonym Geographic Area Source Legal Recognition Legal Document Source National Number Bases for Calculation Estimation Date Source Endangerment Level
English
Germanic
English Whole country 1964 Constitution of Malta 50 242 (given) Main language 2021 1 (National)
Maltese
Semitic
Malti Whole country 1964 Constitution of Malta 352 346 (given) Main language 2021 5 (Developing)
Maltese Sign Language (LSM)
Sign Language
Lingwa tas-Sinjali Maltija Whole country 2016 Maltese Sign Language Recognition Act Approx. 200 (not a census) Deaf Sign Language Users 2026 (Website accessed) 5 (Developing)
ECRML-Recognised Languages
This includes languages recognised under the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages (ECRML). The data on legal recognition was aggregated from legal documents and official sources. Wherever possible, the national number was taken from a national census or recent study/official estimate – sources are listed. The endangerment level is adopted from Ethnologue and further estimates of endangerment can be found on the individual language profile (e.g. by clicking on 'Czech').
Language Endonym Geographic Area Source Legal Recognition Legal Document Source National Number Bases for Calculation Estimation Date Source Endangerment Level ECRML level
/
Non-ECRML Languages – Source Overview
Languages marked with appear in that source. Languages listed in multiple sources may have differing data – see the detail tables below.
Language Ethnologue ELP
French
German
Italian
Non-ECRML Languages (Ethnologue)
Languages listed with an 'established status' in Ethnologue. The data on legal recognition, national number, and endangerment level was taken from Ethnologue, reflecting its current state and gaps of knowledge.
Language Endonym Geographic Area Source Legal Recognition Legal Document Source National Number Bases for Calculation Estimation Date Source Endangerment Level
French
Romance
Français Scattered / / / 58 200 Users 2022 4 (Educational)
German
Germanic
Deutsch / / / / 10 000 Users 2023 5* (Dispersed)
Italian
Romance
Italiano Widespread / / / 289 100 Users 2019 5* (Dispersed)
Recognised Minorities
FCNM Status Religious Groups Ethnic / National Groups Linguistic Groups Comments Source for Groups and Comments (Name) Source for Groups and Comments (Link) National Reservations & Declarations Source for Reservations & Declarations
In force (1998) / / / No groups are recognized as national minorities Magazzini, T. (2024). When ethnicity is “national”: mapping ethnic minorities in Europe’s framework convention for the protection of national minorities. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 47(9), 1812–1833. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2024.2328338 “Reservation contained in the instrument of ratification, deposited on 10 February 1998 - Or. Engl. The Government of Malta reserves the right not to be bound by the provisions of Article 15 insofar as these entail the right to vote or to stand for election either for the House of Representatives or for Local Councils. Declaration contained in the instrument of ratification, deposited on 10 February 1998 - Or. Engl. The Government of Malta declares that Articles 24 and 25, in particular, of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of 1 February 1995 are to be understood having regard to the fact that no national minorities in the sense of the Framework Convention exist in the territory of the Government of Malta. The Government of Malta considers its ratification of the Framework Convention as an act of solidarity in the view of the objectives of the Convention.”

Comments

Add a comment

Note: Comments are moderated. Only approved comments will appear on the page.