Malta Census

Census records
Research use: These records establish family relationships, link families together and greatly supplement the research process.

Record type: Population enumeration. The earliest known counts were “hearth and head counts” carried out by the Knights of St. John in the early 1500s. Specific dates of enumeration are not available until the counts of 1828 and 1837, followed by a census in 1842 and 1851. Thereafter a census was taken every 10 years. Time period: 1530 to present

Contents: Census records since 1842 provide names of members of households, listed in chronological order, sex of individuals, their ages or dates and places of birth, civil status, occupations, duration of residency, and so forth. Early headcounts provide much less data, but specific information about these censuses is not available.

Location: Census records of the Island of Malta are at the National Library of Malta in Valletta; those of the Island of Gozo are at the public library in Victoria.

Population coverage: 80 to 99%.