Districts of Malta

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Malta is divided into districts. The four types of districts are regional councils, statistical districts, electoral districts, and policing districts.

Regional Councils

Malta is divided into six regions for local-government and administrative purposes. Three regions were originally created by the Local Councils Act of 1993, and were integrated into the constitution in 2001.[better source needed] Two of the regions were split into smaller ones by Act No. XVI of 2009, and Malta was divided into five regions.Act No. XIV of 2019 reorganized the subdivision, establishing six regions, and was implemented in November 2021

Each region has a Regional Council (Maltese: Kunsill Reġjonali), which consists of a Regional President, a Deputy President, an Executive Secretary and between 10 and 12 members.

Function

According to article 37B of the Local Governments' Act, the functions of Regional Councils include issuing calls for tenders for waste management services, conducting social impact evaluations, providing professional assistance across various sectors to local councils, coordinating with government entities and preparing annual Work Plans to address financial and human resource requirements.

Current regions

  Eastern Region
  Gozo Region
  Northern Region
  Port Region
  Southern Region
  Western Region
Coat of arms Region Seat Largest city Area
(km²) 		Population
(year) 		Density
(per km²) 		Established
Eastern Region San Ġwann (not part of the region) Birkirkara 20.3 km2 (7.8 sq mi) 115,908 (2021)[1] 5,700/km2 (15,000/sq mi) 2021
Gozo Region Victoria 67 km2 (26 sq mi) 34,563 (2020)[2] 520/km2 (1,300/sq mi) 1993
Northern Region St. Paul's Bay 82.07 km2 (31.69 sq mi) 118,588 (2020)[3] 1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi) 2009
Port Region Tarxien Żabbar 15.75 km2 (6.08 sq mi) 69,880 (2020)[4] 4,400/km2 (11,000/sq mi) 2021
Southern Region Qormi 78.9 km2 (30.5 sq mi) 106,593 (2021)[5] 1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi) 2009
Western Region Rabat Żebbuġ 83.2 km2 (32.1 sq mi) 59,287 (2020)[6] 710/km2 (1,800/sq mi) 2021


Former regions (2009-2021)

  Central Region
  Gozo Region
  Northern Region
  South Eastern Region
  Southern Region
Coat of arms Region Seat Largest city Area Population (2014) Population density Established Abolished
Central Region San Ġwann Birkirkara 23.6 km2 (9.1 sq mi) 111,994 4,700/km2 (12,000/sq mi) 2009 2021
South Eastern Region Valletta Żabbar 36.2 km2 (14.0 sq mi) 99,301 2,700/km2 (7,000/sq mi) 2009 2021

Former regions (1993–2009)

1: Gozo
2: Malta Majjistral
3: Malta Xlokk
Region Largest city Area Population (2005) Population density Established Abolished
Malta Majjistral Birkirkara 163 km2 (63 sq mi) 227,117 1,393/km2 (3,610/sq mi) 1993 2009
Malta Xlokk Żabbar 64 km2 (25 sq mi) 140,882 2,201/km2 (5,700/sq mi) 1993 2009

Statistical districts and regions

Statistical Districts of Malta. Region 6 refers to Gozo and Comino district

Malta is divided into six districts for statistical purposes, as defined by the National Statistics Office and Eurostat. Each district comprises a number of local councils (LAU2). At the NUTS-3 level, these districts are grouped into two regions: Malta (comprising the first five districts) and Gozo and Comino (comprising the sixth).[7][8]

Statistical divisions of Malta (EU NUTS and LAU classification)
Level (EU classification) Meaning / Area type Number of areas Code Name(s)
NUTS – Statistical Regions
NUTS 1 Country 1 MT0 Malta
NUTS 2 Country 1 MT00 Malta
NUTS 3 Islands 2 MT001 Malta (island)
MT002 Gozo, Comino
LAU – Local Administrative Units
LAU 1 Districts 6 — Northern Harbour District
Southern Harbour District
South Eastern District
Western District
Northern District
Gozo and Comino District
LAU 2 Local councils 68 — —

Historically, the statistical districts were sometimes grouped into three larger statistical regions: Malta Majjistral (comprising the Northern Harbour, Western, and Northern Districts), Malta Xlokk (comprising the Southern Harbour and South Eastern Districts), and Gozo and Comino. This classification is no longer in official use.[9]

Southern Harbour District

Southern Harbour District

The Southern Harbour District forms part of Malta Xlokk. It contains 14 local councils including the all but western suburbs of the capital Valletta and the small cities Birgu, Cospicua, Senglea and Żabbar. Its largest locality is Żabbar; its smallest, Xgħajra.[10] The District's population is 80,170 (as of 31 December 2016) across its 26.1 km2. Thus it then ranked second-most populous and had the fifth-largest extent.

  • Birgu (Vittoriosa) 2,451 population (at end 2016)
  • Bormla (Cospicua) 5,147
  • Fgura 11,714
  • Floriana (Furjana) 1,966
  • Senglea (Isla) 2,691
  • Kalkara 3,006
  • Luqa, include the hamlet of Ħal Farruġ 5,793
  • Marsa (both parishes; the Parish of the Holy Trinity and the Parish of Maria Regina) 5,328
  • Paola (Raħal Ġdid) (both parishes; the Parish of Christ the King and the Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes) 8,241
  • Santa Luċija 2,929
  • Tarxien 8,674
  • Valletta (the four parishes; the Parish of Our Lady of Porto Salvo, the Parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Parish of St. Paul's Shipwreck and the Parish of St. Augustine) 5,656
  • Xgħajra 1,673
  • Żabbar, include the hamlet of St. Peter's[10] 14,901

Northern Harbour District

Northern Harbour District

The Northern Harbour District forms part of the Central Region. It contains 13 local councils including the city of Qormi, with the largest locality being Birkirkara (pop. 22,314). The smallest one is Ta' Xbiex (pop. 1,657). The population of the District is 131,056 (as of 31 December 2016) across its 24.1 km2. It is the most populous and yet the smallest.

South Eastern District

South Eastern District

The South Eastern District forms part of Malta Xlokk. It contains 11 local councils including the city of Żejtun, with the largest locality being Marsaskala (pop. 12,281) while the smallest one is Ħal Safi (pop. 2,168). The population of the District is 68,044 (as of 31 December 2016) across its 54.3 km2. It is the fourth-largest district by population and area.

Western District

Western District

The Western District forms part of Malta Majjistral. It contains 10 local councils including the cities of Mdina, Siġġiewi and Żebbuġ, the most populous locality being Żebbuġ (pop. 11,759). The smallest one is Mdina (pop. 229). The population of the District is 59,817 (as of 31 December 2016) across its 72.5 km2. Thus it was the fifth-largest by population and has the second-largest extent.

Northern District

Northern District

The Northern District forms part of the Northern Region. It contains 6 local councils but no cities, with the largest locality being St. Paul's Bay (pop. 29,843); its smallest is Għargħur (pop. 2,743). The population of the District is 69,467 (as of 31 December 2016) across its 73.6 km2. It is the third most populous and is the largest.

Gozo and Comino District

Gozo and Comino District

The Gozo and Comino District is also the Gozo Region. It contains 14 local councils including the city of Victoria (or Rabat). This is also the largest locality (pop. 6,211) while the smallest one is Għasri (pop. 418). The population of the District is 31,879 (as of 31 December 2016) across its 68.7 km2. It is the least populous district and the third biggest.

Electoral districts

See also: Parliament of Malta

There are currently 13 Electoral Divisions for the unicameral (single-assembly) parliament. Each consists of a number of localities (although there is no requirement that electoral boundaries follow the boundaries of localities).[11][12]

Electoral Districts of Malta

District 1

District 2

District 3

District 4

District 5

District 6

District 7

District 8

District 9

District 10

District 11

District 12

District 13

This district consists of the islands of Gozo and Comino

Police districts

Following the 2022 amendments to the police district's boundaries and compositions, Malta has 2 police regions which fall under the responsibility of 2 distinct Assistant Commissioners. Each of these 2 regions consist of 6 police districts, amounting to a total of 12 districts. Each district is administered by its nominated Superintendent and has its own police headquarters.[13][14]

Region A

District 1

District 2

District 3

District 4

District 5

District 6

Region B

District 7

District 8

District 9

District 10

District 11

District 12

References

  1. ^ "Social Impact Assessment - Reġjun Lvant". Reġjun Lvant. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  2. ^ "Regional Cultural Strategy Booklet Gozo" (PDF). Arts Council Malta.
  3. ^ "Regional Cultural Strategy Booklet North" (PDF). Arts Council Malta.
  4. ^ "Regional Cultural Strategy Booklet Port" (PDF). Arts Council Malta.
  5. ^ "Social Impact Assestment Southern Regional Council" (PDF). Reġjun Nofsinhar. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  6. ^ "Regional Cultural Strategy Booklet West" (PDF). Arts Council Malta.
  7. ^ "Statistical Concepts, Definitions and Classifications" (PDF). National Statistics Office (Malta). Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  8. ^ "Statistical regions in Malta". Eurostat. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Population Statistics" (PDF). National Statistics Office (Malta). 22 June 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  10. ^ a b Saviour Formosa; Sandra Scicluna; Jacqueline Azzopardi, eds. (January 2013). Realities of Crime, Society and Landuse in the Mediterranean: JANUS I (PDF). Msida: Department of Criminology, University of Malta. pp. 59–60. doi:10.13140/2.1.1230.4322. ISBN 978-99957-834-0-2. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017.
  11. ^ Gauci, Salv. (23 April 2012). "Constitution of Malta. Article 61 – Electoral Divisions" (PDF). The Malta Government Gazette. No. 18904. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  12. ^ "Electoral Divisions". Electoral Commission Malta. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  13. ^ Micallef, Mario (28 February 2022). "Police Force draws up its new districts to better address the needs of today and the future". TVM News. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  14. ^ Ellul, James Aaron (17 February 2022). "Jinbiddlu d-distretti li tagħhom huma responsabbli l-għases tal-Pulizija". NET News. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
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