ABSTRACT
Immigration to Malta is a relatively recent phenomenon. The country has a long history of emigration which was often used as a ‘safety valve’ to ease population pressures. With an area of just over 300 square kilometres and a total estimated population of 402,668 at the end of 2004, the Maltese Islands have for several decades been one of the most densely populated countries in the world. As a result, Malta has been facing the problem of how to strike a balance between population growth and the limited economic resources of the country.
