Crime in Malta
a compilation and presentation of crime statistics in Malta with a focus on the nationality of the offender - 2022 update
August 2023
Duncan Tong
M.Sc. International Economics and Business Rijkuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 1
Foreword
The topic of crime and immigration is currently, and has long been, a controversial topic in virtually every Western nation. As the world becomes ever more globalised, and nations are subject to levels of immigration that are unprecedented in recent history, it is vital for citizens and governments alike to equip themselves with the knowledge to objectively analyse this change and the impact (both the positive and the negative) that it brings with it.
The purpose of this short report is twofold:
• to better inform the local crime and immigration debate;
• to assist the relevant policy makers when formulating and amending policy
This short report shows reported offences in Malta for several categories of crime between the years 2015 and 2022. This report is an update of the last version released in September 2020, which covered the years 2015 to 2019. These instances of reported offences are broken down by nationality of the offender, classifying them into one of three groups: Maltese, EU citizen1 and Thirdcountry national (Non-EU national). Third-country nationals are then further categorised into the following categories:
• Africa (Sub-Sahara)
• North Africa and Middle East
• Latin America
• Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Philippines)
• Other (Unknown i.e. the nationality of the offender cannot be established)
The crime rates per nationality grouping of the offenders are then compared to the total population of that grouping as a percentage of Malta’s population, to provide a more representative picture of crime rates in Malta.
This report only considers those instances of crime for which a suspect was known and identified. The raw data included offences for which the suspect was unknown, and these offences were therefore omitted. However, this class of offender comprised a relatively small percentage of each category of crime and therefore their omission does not significantly impact the findings of this report.
This study was compiled using data obtained through a Freedom of Information request made to the Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement on the 27th January 2023, coupled with data provided by the National Statistics Office from an information request made in 2020 as well as the Census of Population and Housing 2021 All data and tables are available in the Appendix section of this document.
1(the UK has been kept as part of the EU category for the sake of continuity with the previous report)
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 2
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 3
Heading Page Key Findings – summary of results 4 1. Population and crime, time series 5 1.i. Broad group nationalities as % of total population 5 1.ii. Annual % change in broad-group nationalities 5 1.iii. Number of reported crimes, over time 6 1.iv. Total crimes for which a suspect is known, per capita per group 6 2. Violent Crime by nationality classification 7 2.i. Bodily harm - assault (no weapon) 7 2.ii. Bodily harm - assault with a weapon 7 2.iii. Homicide 8 2.iv. Sexual offences – indecent exposure 8 2.v. Sexual offences – rape 9 2.vi. Sexual offences – violent indecent assault 9 2.vii. Theft – mugging 10 2.viii. Theft – armed robbery 10 3. Per capita crime rate comparisons 11 3.i. EU citizens vs Maltese per-capita crime rate 11 3.ii. Non-EU citizens vs Maltese per-capita crime rate 11 3.iii. Non-EU European citizens vs Maltese per-capita crime rate 12 3.iv. African (Sub-Sahara) citizens vs Maltese per-capita crime rate 12 3.v. North African, Middle East citizens vs Maltese per-capita crime rate 13 3.vi. Other citizens vs Maltese per-capita crime rate 13 Appendix A – data tables 14 Appendix B – references 17
Table of contents
Key Findings – summary of results
Between 2015 and 2022, non-EU nationals committed nearly all categories of crime at a higher rate per capita than Maltese citizens and EU citizens.
Key
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 4
0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 Assault without a weapon Assault with a weapon
North
Rate of crime per 1,000 inhabitants 0.00 0.40 0.80 1.20 1.60 2.00 Homicide Violent indecent assault Rape Indecent exposure Mugging Armed robbery
North
Other
of crime per 1,000 inhabitants
Malta EU Non-EU European Africa (Sub-Sahara)
Africa and Middle East Other
Malta EU Non-EU European Africa (Sub-Sahara)
Africa and Middle East
Rate
1. Population and crime, time series
1.i. Broad group nationalities as % of total population
1.ii. Annual % change in broad-group nationalities
Source: NSO information request, NSO 2022 Census data
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 5 0.6% 0.6% 0.4% 0.3% -0.9% -0.9% -0.9% 27.3% 27.5% 17.9% 16.5% 2.9% 2.8% 2.8% 3.9% 18.7% 32.3% 32.7% 9.2% 8.5% 8.5% -5.0% 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Maltese population - EU population - Non-EU population -
89.6% 88.2% 85.9% 83.1% 80.0% 78.9% 77.8% 76.6% 5.3% 6.6% 8.1% 9.2% 10.3% 10.5% 10.8% 11.0% 5.1% 5.2% 6.0% 7.7% 9.7% 10.6% 11.4% 12.3% 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0% 100.0% 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Maltese population EU population Non-EU population
1.iii. Number of reported crimes, over time
1.iv. Total crimes for which a suspect is known, per capita per group
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 6 17,138 17,298 17,136 15,925 15,589 13,088 15,773 14,934 12,000 13,000 14,000 15,000 16,000 17,000 18,000 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Average Malta EU Non-EU
10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Average Malta EU Non-EU European Africa (Sub-Sahara) North Africa and Middle East Other Source: Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement; NSO information request, NSO 2022 Census data
2. Violent crimes by nationality of offender
2.i. Bodily harm – assault (no weapon); 2015-2022
2.ii. Bodily harm – assault with a weapon; 2015-2022
Source: Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 7 Maltese 71% EU+UK 3% Non-EU 26% Maltese 83% EU+UK 6% Non-EU 11% Category Number % Maltese 4,746 82.9% EU+UK 322 5.6% Non-EU 654 11.4% Total 5,722 100.0% Category Number % Maltese 920 71.3% EU+UK 38 2.9% Non-EU 333 25.8% Total 1,291 100.0%
2.iii. Homicide; 2015-2022
2.iv. Sexual offences – indecent exposure; 2015-2022
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 8 Maltese 40% EU+UK 11% Non-EU 49% Maltese 69% EU+UK 14% Non-EU 17% Category Number % Maltese 80 69.0% EU+UK 16 13.8% Non-EU 20 17.2% Total 116 100.0%
Source: Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement
2.v. Sexual offences – rape; 2015-2022
2.vi. Sexual offences – violent assault; 2015-2022
Source: Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 9 Maltese 60% EU+UK 14% Non-EU 26% Maltese 64% EU+UK 6% Non-EU 30% Category Number % Maltese 59 60.2% EU+UK 14 14.3% Non-EU 25 25.5% Total 98 100.0% Category Number % Maltese 106 64.2% EU+UK 10 6.1% Non-EU 49 29.7% Total 165 100.0%
2.vii. Theft – mugging; 2015-2022
2.viii. Theft – armed robbery; 2015-2022
Source: Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 10
Maltese 87% EU+UK 2% Non-EU 11% Maltese 63% EU+UK 4% Non-EU 33% Category Number % Maltese 62 63.3% EU+UK 4 4.1% Non-EU 32 32.7% Total 98 100.0% Category Number % Maltese 107 87.0% EU+UK 3 2.4% Non-EU 13 10.6% Total 123 100.0%
3. Per-capita crime rate comparisons
3.i. EU citizens vs Maltese per-capita crime rate
3.ii. Non-EU citizens vs Maltese per-capita crime rate
Source: Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement; NSO information request, NSO 2022 Census data
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 11
0.47 0.29 1.85 0.66 1.65 1.39 0.45 0.20 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00
Assault without a weapon Assault with a weapon Homicide Violent indecent assault Rape Indecent exposure Mugging Armed robbery
Malta EU
1.42 3.06 8.70 4.69 5.26 2.80 4.81 1.04 0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00
Assault without a weapon Assault with a weapon Homicide Violent indecent assault Rape Indecent exposure Mugging Armed robbery
Malta Non-EU
3. iii. Non-EU European citizens vs Maltese per-capita crime rate
3.vi. African (Sub-Sahara) citizens vs Maltese per-capita crime rate
Source: Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement; NSO information request, NSO 2022 Census data
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 12
0.37 0.36 2.00 0.85 1.53 0.75 0.97 0.00 0.00 2.00 4.00
Assault without a weapon Assault with a weapon Homicide Violent indecent assault Rape Indecent exposure Mugging Armed robbery
1.81 6.16 7.41 6.99 6.91 5.56 9.56 0.35 0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00
Malta Non-EU European
Assault without a weapon Assault with a weapon Homicide Violent indecent assault Rape Indecent exposure Mugging Armed robbery
Malta Africa (Sub-Sahara)
3.v. North African, Middle East citizens vs Maltese per-capita crime rate
3. vi. Other citizens vs Maltese per-capita crime rate
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 13 0.18 0.15 1.04 0.44 0.00 0.19 0.00 0.15 0.00 2.00 4.00
Assault without a weapon Assault with a weapon Homicide Violent indecent assault Rape Indecent exposure Mugging Armed robbery
1.77 4.76 23.70 5.93 5.10 1.71 6.18 2.81 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00
Malta Other
Assault without a weapon
Assault with a weapon Homicide Violent indecent assault Rape Indecent exposure Mugging Armed robbery
Malta North Africa and Middle East
Source: Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement; NSO information request, NSO 2022 Census data
Appendix A – data tables
Total population by broad groups of
Bodily harm without a weapon, by year and
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 14
citizenship Nationality 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Maltese 403,480 405,976 408,556 410,292 411,453 407,783 404,113 400,476 EU 23,758 30,248 38,563 45,457 52,946 54,476 56,006 57,579 Non-EU 23,177 24,073 28,582 37,810 50,165 54,804 59,443 64,475 Total 450,415 460,297 475,701 493,559 514,564 517,063 519,562 522,530 Non-EU EFTA 453 519 605 618 820 896 972 1,054 Candidate countries 2,154 2,847 4,814 7,211 9,567 10,452 11,337 12,296 Very Highly developed non-EU countries 1,386 1,512 1,669 1,724 2,287 2,499 2,710 2,940 Highly developed non-EU countries 8,115 7,822 7,834 8,588 11,394 12,448 13,502 14,644 Medium developed non-EU countries 6,637 7,222 9,150 13,331 17,687 19,323 20,958 22,732 Less developed non-EU countries 4,432 4,151 4,510 6,338 8,409 9,187 9,964 10,808 Total 23,177 24,073 28,582 37,810 50,165 54,804 59,443 64,475 Source:
Bodily harm with a weapon, by year and classification 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total Maltese 104 130 99 124 128 99 116 120 920 EU+UK 7 6 7 3 5 2 4 4 38 Non-EU European 4 0 0 0 3 2 2 - 11 African (sub-saharan) 36 31 24 26 11 9 7 9 153 North Africa and Middle East 16 22 21 20 18 33 15 15 160 Latin America 0 0 0 0 - 2 - 1 3 Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Philippines) 0 1 0 0 1 0 - 4 6 Other (Unknown) 0 16 1 1 1 2 - 3 24 N/A 0 0 19 13 7 24 18 15 96 Total 167 206 171 187 174 173 162 171 1,411
NSO request; NSO Census data
classification 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total Maltese 688 674 690 672 609 469 497 447 4,746 EU+UK 52 44 43 36 46 27 31 43 322 Non-EU European 7 1 5 9 10 7 9 11 59 African (sub-saharan) 33 34 29 40 34 26 18 18 232 North Africa and Middle East 36 39 45 49 36 39 35 29 308 Latin America 3 0 2 0 1 2 2 5 15 Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Philippines) 3 0 2 5 3 7 9 11 40 Other (Unknown) 6 42 4 11 11 15 8 22 119 N/A 0 0 56 59 58 61 39 37 310 Total 828 834 876 881 808 653 648 623 6,151
Indecent exposure by year and classification
Violent indecent assault by year and classification
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 15
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total Maltese 7 7 9 9 11 9 13 15 80 EU+UK 0 0 1 4 4 5 1 1 16 Non-EU European 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 - 2 African (sub-saharan) 2 2 1 1 1 4 1 - 12 North Africa and Middle East 0 0 3 0 - 2 - - 5 Latin America 0 0 0 0 - 1 - - 1 Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Philippines) 0 0 0 0 - 0 - - 0 Other (Unknown) 0 1 0 0 - 0 3 - 4 N/A 0 0 2 5 1 3 1 - 12 Total 9 10 16 19 17 24 21 16 132 Rape by year and classification 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total Maltese 10 9 3 6 7 7 9 8 59 EU+UK 2 4 0 0 - 2 4 2 14 Non-EU European 0 0 2 0 - 0 1 - 3 African (sub-saharan) 1 1 3 1 3 0 2 - 11 North Africa and Middle East 2 1 3 2 1 0 1 1 11 Latin America 0 0 0 0 - 0 - - 0 Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Philippines) 0 0 0 0 - 0 - - 0 Other (Unknown) 0 4 0 0 1 0 1 - 6 N/A 0 0 0 3 5 2 5 4 19 Total 15 19 11 12 17 11 23 15 123
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total Maltese 20 11 14 7 15 9 14 16 106 EU+UK 3 2 1 2 - 0 1 1 10 Non-EU European 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 - 3 African (sub-saharan) 3 2 1 5 2 3 1 3 20 North Africa and Middle East 3 2 0 5 1 2 4 6 23 Latin America 0 0 0 0 - 0 - - 0 Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Philippines) 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 1 3 Other (Unknown) 0 3 0 1 - 0 1 4 9 N/A 0 0 0 2 6 7 2 5 22 Total 29 20 16 22 24 21 28 36 196 Armed robbery by year and classification 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total Maltese 9 3 6 11 11 28 15 24 107 EU+UK 0 1 0 0 1 0 - 1 3 Non-EU European 0 0 0 0 - 0 - - 0 African (sub-saharan) 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 - 1 North Africa and Middle East 0 3 0 3 - 1 2 2 11 Latin America 1 0 0 0 - 0 - - 1 Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Philippines) 0 0 0 0 - 0 - - 0 Other (Unknown) 0 0 0 0 - 0 - 1 1 N/A 0 0 1 0 - 2 1 - 4 Total 10 7 7 14 12 31 19 28 128
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 16
Mugging by year and classification 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total Maltese 2 6 7 8 10 10 14 5 62 EU+UK 0 0 0 0 - 4 - - 4 Non-EU European 0 0 0 1 1 0 - - 2 African (sub-saharan) 0 0 3 1 2 7 3 - 16 North Africa and Middle East 1 2 2 1 - 4 2 2 14 Latin America 0 0 0 0 - 0 - - 0 Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Philippines) 0 0 0 0 - 0 - - 0 Other (Unknown) 0 0 0 0 - 1 - - 1 N/A 0 0 3 4 1 3 3 1 15 Total 3 8 15 15 14 29 22 8 114 Homicide by year and classification 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total Maltese 0 3 3 1 1 4 - 3 15 EU+UK 0 1 0 1 1 1 - - 4 Non-EU European 0 0 0 0 - 1 - - 1 African (sub-saharan) 0 0 0 1 1 0 - 1 3 North Africa and Middle East 1 4 2 0 - 1 - 5 13 Latin America 0 0 0 0 - 0 - - 0 Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Philippines) 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 - 1 Other (Unknown) 0 0 0 0 - 1 - - 1 N/A 0 0 0 1 - 0 1 - 2 Total 1 8 5 4 3 8 2 9 40
Appendix B - references
MinistryforHomeAffairs,NationalSecurityandLawEnforcement- Freedom of Information request made on the 27th January 2023
National Statistics Office (NSO) - Information request made on the 17th of September 2020
National Statistics Office (NSO) - Census of Population and Housing 2021
Crime in Malta: A report on crime in Malta by nationality (2023) 17
