The number of religious marriages has fallen by a significant 18% in the last decade, parliamentary statistics have revealed.
In the past decade, the number of religious marriages has fallen from 2,036 in 1997 to 1,667 in 2006.
In the meantime, the number of civil marriages has increased by 112% from 377 to 802 during the same period – although most of these marriages did not involve Maltese spouses.
Overall the number of marriages, both civil and religious, celebrated in Malta has slightly increased from 2,413 in 1997 to 2,469 in 2006.
This emerges from Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg’s reply to a question by Labour MP Adrian Vassallo.
Although the number of civil marriages is on the increase, the majority of these marriages were celebrated between foreign spouses marrying in Malta. In fact between 2000 and 2005 the number of civil marriages between foreign spouses increased drastically from 192 to 455 while the number of civil marriages in which both spouses were Maltese only increased from 65 to 83.
Between 2000 and 2005 the number of Maltese conducting a civil marriage with a foreign spouse decreased from 216 to 196.
Only 41 of the civil marriages celebrated in the first six months of 2007 were between Maltese spouses, 81 involved Maltese marrying to foreigners while 122 involved foreign spouses.

jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt