Young people and family formation in Malta

Abstract

This chapter outlines the situation of young people in Malta in recent years with particular emphasis on their transition to family life. The chapter starts with a description of social life in Malta as traditionally Catholic but having rapidly secularized and diversified in recent decades. This is followed by demographic trends in respect of young people, particularly in terms of their household arrangements, marriage and divorce, fertility and migration, subsequently discussed in terms of the normative framework. The socio-economic conditions experienced by young people are presented in terms of labor market and educational outcomes, as well as housing and income. A description of the prevailing institutional framework is then followed by an analysis of the challenges facing young people in forming a family today.