Information provided from 36 schools operating in the teaching of the English language to foreigners indicates an increase of 31.2 per cent in the number of students visiting the Maltese Islands to study English over 2006.

The majority of these students were between 16 and 17 years, with 42.6 per cent of the students in this age group originating from Italy and France. All age groups, with the exception of the '15 and under' and '30 and over', registered increases over the previous year. Germany, Spain, Italy, France and the Russian Federation garnered 70.7 per cent of the total incoming students.

The European market still dominates with regard to the number of students who are coming to Malta to follow courses in the English language. However, the share of students coming from Asia and America has increased when compared to the previous year.

Seven out of every 100 incoming tourists are students who have visited the country with the specific intention of studying English. The summer months tend to be the time of the year when most of these students come to Malta; in this respect 11 out of every 100 summer tourists are students following courses in the English language.

Longer stays are prevalent among students between 21 and 25 years, with an average length of stay of 3.2 weeks per student. Students from Turkey, Libya and Japan tend to stay longer in the country when compared to the rest of the students coming from other countries. By contrast, students from Austria, Germany and Italy tend to have shorter stays.

In 2007, teachers working in English-language specialised schools numbered 1,257. Of these, 91.9 per cent were working on a part-time basis. Female teaching personnel made up 74.1 per cent of total teachers working in these schools.