VALLETTA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Malta has registered the highest relative population increase in the EU in 2017, according to a report released by Eurostat on Tuesday.
The population of Malta increased by 15,700 in 2017, over 15 times the rate in the EU when adjusted for the size of the population.
The 316 square-km Mediterranean island's population is now at 475,700.
Among all the EU member states, 19 registered an increase in population in 2017, while nine registering a decrease. The largest relative increase was observed in Malta with 32.9 per 1,000 residents, followed by Luxembourg and Sweden. The largest decrease was recorded in Lithuania with 13.8 per 1,000 residents, followed by Croatia and Latvia.
The total population of the EU increased by 1.1 million people during the year 2017 and is currently estimated at 512.6 million.
