This chapter offers a regional analysis of students’ progression through various education levels, distinguishing between compulsory (ages 5–15) and non-compulsory education. It covers state, independent, and church schools. Non-compulsory education includes kindergarten and post-secondary/tertiary levels. Data is examined based on both students’ residence and school location.
Last Updated: 04 June 2026
Salient Points
Pre-primary children: Scholastic year 2023/24
… largest proportion of pre-primary students resided and attended school in the Northern Harbour district.
… the share of pre-primary students attending state and independent schools amounted to 73.1 and 16.3 per cent respectively.
Primary students: Scholastic year 2023/24
… 27,537 students enrolled in primary education. State schools remained the most popular at 58.4 per cent of total student body in primary level.
Secondary students: Scholastic year 2023/24
… 23,108 students enrolled in secondary education. Most students attended institutions in the same district of residence except for students residing in the Western district, where most of them attended at institutions located in the Northern Harbour district.
Post-secondary general education: Scholastic year 2023/24
… 4,347 adolescents enrolled in post-secondary general education, of which 72.5 per cent attended state-run institutions. Most students attended institutions located in the Northern Harbour district at 63.0 per cent.
Other Post-secondary and Tertiary education – Scholastic year 2023/24
… 24,927 students attended full-time or part-time courses; an increase of 5.1 per cent when compared to academic year 2022/23.
… most students residing in Malta and Gozo and Comino were females at 53.8 per cent. The largest share of male and female students hailed from the Northern Harbour at 30.0 and 28.5 per cent respectively.
Graduates per 1,000 inhabitants – Scholastic year 2023/24
… share of graduates at MQF level 6 per 1,000 inhabitants was highest in the Gozo and Comino and Western districts at 10.7 and 10.2 respectively whereas that for MQF level 7 was highest in the Western and Gozo and Comino districts at 10.4 and 9.6 per 1,000 inhabitants respectively.
Methodological Notes
1. Education statistics are processed by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on an annual basis in accordance with European Regulations (EC) 452/2008 and (EU) 912/2013. These regulations establish the basis of information to be collected from educational institutions at all levels of education and all economic sectors. By adhering to these regulations, all education statistics collected and processed by the NSO are comparable to other European countries following the same regulatory standards.
2. Figures for post-secondary and tertiary students are based on data available as at the cut-off date of 31st July 2025, whilst figures for graduates are based on data available as at the cut-off date of 30th September 2025. Statistics may be subject to revisions.
3. All information required for pre-primary to secondary state administered educational institutions is obtained from register data provided directly from the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation (MEYR). Questionnaires for pre-primary, primary and secondary non-state, and for post-secondary and tertiary educational institutions are sent via email.
4. Provision of education for early years in Malta consists of the non-compulsory and compulsory sectors. For the purpose of this publication, the non-compulsory sector at the lower levels comprises pre-primary education for three to four-year-olds, Kinder 1 and Kinder 2. Children who attend a childcare centres are being excluded from the total children in pre-primary level. Compulsory education is sub-divided into a six year primary cycle (five to 10-year-olds) and five years of secondary education (11 to 15-year olds).
5. Student figures in primary and secondary levels include students attending special schools. In special schools, the class levels are assigned to students are according to registration within the schools.
6. Data includes students enrolled in formal education with a minimum duration of one semester of full-time study (or the equivalent in part-time) which are delivered from Malta (online or face-to-face). Students are included irrespective of whether they are residing in Malta or abroad. This publication excludes short courses (duration of less than the equivalence of one full-time semester), and courses not delivered from Malta.
7. For the purpose of this publication ‘post-secondary general level’ refers to students enrolled at ISCED level 3 in Sixth Forms, ‘other post-secondary’ refers to students enrolled / graduates in the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS), University of Malta (UM), and public and private institutions offering courses at ISCED levels 2 to 4; and tertiary level refers to students enrolled / graduates at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS), University of Malta (UM), and public and private institutions offering courses at ISCED levels 5 to 8.
8. For the purpose of this publication, the number of public and private institutions providing “post-secondary general” education and “other post-secondary and tertiary” education are as below:
| 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of institutions offering courses at post-secondary and tertiary level | 59 | 66 | 71 |
| of which: | |||
| Post-secondary general | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Other post-secondary and tertiary | 48 | 55 | 60 |
| Number of institutions with graduates at other post-secondary and tertiary level | 39 | 42 | 52 |
9. Students and graduates are counted only once in the data. In the case of multiple enrolments/qualifications attained during the reference academic year by the same person, students/graduates are weighted according to the intensity of study of their programmes.
10. Definitions:
● Age is calculated as at 1st January of the reference academic year. For example, for academic year 2023-2024, age is calculated as at 1st January 2024.
● Compulsory education covers education from primary to upper secondary levels – from Year 1 to Year 11. Schooling is compulsory between the ages of five and fifteen and until the last year of secondary school is complete (as established by Chapter 605 of the Laws of Malta – The Education Act).
● Fields of study (ISCED Fields of Education and Training 2013): The ISCED Fields of Education and Training 2013 classifies educational programmes and related qualifications by fields of study. A field is the broad domain, branch or area of content covered by an education programme or qualification. For more information refer to the International Standard Classification of Education – Fields of education and training 2013 (ISCED-F 2013).
ISCED Fields of Education and Training 2013 classification:
00 Generic programmes and qualifications
01 Education
02 Arts and humanities
03 Social sciences, journalism and information
04 Business, administration and law
05 Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
06 Information and communication technologies
07 Engineering, manufacturing and construction
08 Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
09 Health and welfare
10 Services
● Formal education is an institutionalised, intentional and planned type of education which is provided by public organisations and recognised private bodies. It consists primarily of initial education designed for children and young people before their first entry into the labour market. It also includes other types of education such as vocational, special needs and adult education provided they are recognised as part of the formal education system by the relevant national education authorities.
● Graduates refer to students who successfully complete an educational programme during the reference year and who were or will be eventually awarded a qualification.
● General education programmes are defined as educational programmes that are designed to develop learners’ general knowledge, skills and competencies, as well as literacy and numeracy skills, often to prepare participants for more advanced education programmes at the same or a higher ISCED level and to lay the foundation for lifelong learning. These programmes are typically school-based or college-based. General education includes education programmes that are designed to prepare participants for entry into vocational education but do not prepare for employment in a particular occupation, trade or class of occupations or trades, nor lead directly to a labour market-relevant qualification.
● Locality of Institution refers to the locality where the physical campus is registered, according to the LAU classification.
● Locality of residence is the locality where students/graduates were residing during the academic year, as registered by the institution. Students/graduates registering a foreign address of residence or having missing information relating to the locality of residence are reported as students/graduates with an unspecified locality.
● Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF): The level descriptors of the Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF) were originally introduced by Legal Notice 347 of 2005. These represent neutral reference points to be used for all qualifications, be they academic, vocational, formal, informal and non-formal. The level descriptors are useful for education and training providers, and for employers. The MQF is structured as follows:
Malta Qualifications Framework:
| 8 | Doctoral Degree | |
| 7 | Master’s Degree | |
| 7 | Post-graduate Diploma Post-graduate Certificate |
|
| 6 | Bachelor’s Degree | |
| 5 | Undergraduate Diploma Undergraduate Certificate |
|
| 5 | Matriculation Level | Foundation Degree Higher Vocational Education and Training Diploma |
| 4 | Advanced Level Intermediate Level |
Vocational Education and Training Diploma |
| 3 | General Education Level 3 SEC Grade 1–5 |
Vocational Education and Training Level 3 |
| 2 | General Education Level 2 SEC Grade 6–7 |
Vocational Education and Training Level 2 |
| 1 | General Education Level 1 School Leaving Certificate |
Vocational Education and Training Level 1 |
| B | Introductory Level B | |
| A | Introductory Level A | |
● Vocational education programmes are designed for learners to acquire the knowledge, skills and competencies specific to a particular occupation, trade or class of occupations or trades. Vocational education may have work-based components (e.g. apprenticeships, dual-system education programmes). Successful completion of such programmes leads to labour market-relevant vocational qualifications acknowledged as occupationally-oriented by the relevant national authorities and/or the labour market.
11. Note on coherence: Disaggregation of educational statistics based on MQF level presented in this publication is not directly equivalent to education statistics disaggregated by ISCED level. More information on ISCED levels is available here.
12. More information relating to
