Graduates: 2023
- Tertiary-level graduates totalled 5,833 during 2023, equivalent to an increase of 6.6 per cent over the previous year.
- Slightly more than half of tertiary graduates attained a qualification at ISCED Level 6 (Bachelor’s or equivalent) (52.5 per cent).
- More than half the tertiary-level graduates were females (60.1 per cent).
- The majority of tertiary graduates were aged between 20 and 29 years (67.9 per cent).
- The ‘Business, administration and law’ field of study was the most popular amongst tertiary graduates in 2023, accounting for 29.7 per cent of all tertiary-level graduates.
Graduates: 2023
Graduates: 2023
This news release includes graduates from formal education programmes with a minimum duration of one semester of full-time study (or the equivalent in part-time) and that are delivered from Malta. Graduates are included irrespective of whether they are residing in Malta or abroad. The population of educational institutions considered include institutions delivering formal education programmes from Malta, whether online or face-to-face, at tertiary level.
More than half of tertiary graduates (60.1 per cent) were females (Chart 1, Table 1), and females surpassed males in all levels of tertiary education (Chart 2). For every 100 male graduates, there were 151 female graduates. An increase was also reflected in the total number of educational institutions offering tertiary education during this reference year (refer to the methodological note 4).
The largest share of tertiary graduates attained a qualification at ISCED Level 6 (Bachelor’s or equivalent) (52.5 per cent). This was followed by 34.9 per cent of total tertiary graduates who attained a qualification at ISCED Level 7 (Master’s or equivalent) (Table 1).
Chart 1. Tertiary graduates by year and sex
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Chart 2. Percentage distribution of tertiary graduates by education level and sex
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Notes:
1. Tertiary refers to ISCED levels 5 – 8; refer to methodological note 2.
2. For education levels (ISCED-2011) classifications refer to methodological notes 5 and 8.
The majority of tertiary-level graduates was made up of persons aged between 20 and 29 years (67.9 per cent) (Chart 3, Tables 1 and 2). Foreign graduates totalled 1,526, equivalent to 26.2 per cent of total tertiary-level graduates, increasing by 12.3 percentage points over the previous year. Non-EU citizens comprised the largest proportion of all foreign tertiary graduates (54.5 per cent) (Table 3). During 2023, 71.9 per cent of graduates attained a qualification from a full-time programme, whilst graduates from part-time programmes increased by 16.8 percentage points over the previous year (Table 4).
Chart 3. Percentage distribution of tertiary graduates by sex and age group
Note: Tertiary refers to ISCED levels 5 – 8; refer to methodological note 2.
The majority of graduates in ISCED levels 6 (Bachelor’s or equivalent) and 7 (Master’s or equivalent) were Maltese (81.1 per cent and 77.5 per cent, respectively), whilst in ISCED levels 5 (Short-cycle tertiary education) and 8 (Doctoral or equivalent), the majority of graduates were foreign nationals (67.8 per cent and 60.3 per cent, respectively) (Table 5).
The ‘Business, administration and law’ field of study was the most popular field amongst tertiary graduates in 2023, accounting for over one fourth of the total at 29.7 per cent. This field was also the most popular field among graduates in ISCED level 6 and level 7. The field ‘Health and welfare’ was the second most popular field of study among graduates at 23.2 per cent, and it was the most popular field among graduates in ISCED level 5 and level 8. ‘Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary’ was the least popular field of study among tertiary graduates, amounting to 0.2 per cent (Tables 6 and 7).
Chart 4. Percentage distribution of tertiary level graduates by field of study and citizenship
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Notes:
1. Tertiary refers to ISCED levels 5 – 8; refer to methodological note 2.
2. For education levels (ISCED-2011) and fields of study (ISCED-F 2013) classifications refer to methodological notes 5 and 8.
3. The ISCED-F 2013 field ‘Generic programmes and qualifications’ (field 00) is not included since there were no graduates in this field.
4. Percentages may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding.
The majority of graduates in ISCED levels 5, 6 and 7 were graduating from state-run institutions, whilst those graduating at ISCED level 8 were equally distributed in both sate-run and independently-run institutions (Table 8). The fields of study “Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary” and “Education” were largely composed of Maltese graduates (100.0 per cent and 96.9 per cent, respectively) (Table 9, Chart 4).
In 2023, 14.2 per cent of graduates attained a qualification in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Of these, 557 were males while 272 were females. Female STEM graduates increased by 10.1 per cent over the previous year, while male STEM graduates decreased by 6.7 per cent (Chart 5).
Chart 5. Number of tertiary STEM graduates by year and sex
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Notes:
1. Tertiary refers to ISCED levels 5 – 8; refer to methodological note 2.
2. For education levels (ISCED 2011) and fields of study (ISCED-F 2013) classification refer to methodological notes 5 and 8.
3. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) comprise the ISCED-F 2013 fields of natural sciences, mathematics, and statistics (field 05), information and communication technologies (field 06), and engineering, manufacturing, and construction (field 07).
Tables
Tables
Methodological Notes
1. Education statistics presented in this news release 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. For the purpose of this news release, ‘Graduates’ refers to tertiary graduates who obtained a qualification at ISCED levels 5 to 8 from institutions such as the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS), University of Malta (UM), and other public and private further and higher institutions.
3. This news release includes graduates who were enrolled in formal education courses with a minimum duration of one semester of full-time study (or the equivalent in part-time) and that are delivered from Malta (online or face-to-face). This news release excludes graduates in short courses (duration of less than the equivalence of one full-time semester), preparatory programmes and courses not delivered from Malta. Graduates are included irrespective of whether they are residing in Malta or abroad.
4. The population of educational institutions considered for the purpose of this news release include educational institutions having graduates at tertiary level during the respective reference year:
| Graduate year | Number of institutions |
| 2021 | 23 |
| 2022 | 30 |
| 2023 | 37 |
Note: Institutions are considered based on them having graduates at ISCED levels 5 to 8 during the reference year. The formal education tertiary courses considered are those with a minimum duration of one semester of full-time study (or the equivalent in part-time) and that are delivered from Malta (whether online or face-to-face).
5. Definitions and Classifications:
● Age is calculated as at 1 January of the reference year. For example, for graduates in 2023, age is calculated as at 1 January 2023.
● District of residence is the district where graduates were residing during the academic year, as registered by the institution. Graduates registering a foreign address of residence are reported as ‘foreign residence’, whilst graduates having missing information relating to the district of residence are reported as graduates with an unspecified district.
● 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).
● 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 are students who successfully complete an educational programme during the reference year and who were or will be eventually awarded a qualification.
● International Standard Classification of Education – ISCED 2011 is a framework for assembling, compiling, and analysing cross-nationally comparable statistics on education. ISCED belongs to the United Nations International Family of Economic and Social Classifications and is the reference classification for organising education programmes and related qualifications by levels and fields of education. ISCED is designed to serve as a framework to classify educational activities as defined in programmes and the resulting qualifications into internationally agreed categories. For more information refer to the ISCED 2011 manual.
For the purpose of this news release, the following tertiary levels of the ISCED 2011 classification were considered:
ISCED 5 – Short-cycle tertiary education
ISCED 6 – Bachelor’s or equivalent level
ISCED 7 – Master’s or equivalent level
ISCED 8 – Doctoral or equivalent level
6. Graduates are counted only once in the data. In the case of multiple qualifications by the same person, graduates are weighted according to the intensity of study of their programmes.
7. Education statistics data is provided by NSO to Eurostat on an annual basis in a dedicated questionnaire as established by Regulation (EC) No 452/2008 and (EU) 912/2013.
8. More information relating to this release may be accessed at:
Sources and Methods
Concept and Definitions
ISCED 2011 Level
ISCED Fields of Education and Training 2013
LAU Classification
District Classification
9. Totals/percentages may not add up due to rounding.
10. The data contained in this news release may be revised.
11. References to this news release are to be cited appropriately. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.
12. A detailed news release calendar is available online.
13. European statistics related to graduates are available here.
14. For further assistance send your request through our online request form.
