Migration patterns in Zebbug

Abstract

Zebbug is a village of 10,869 inhabitants (1995) located in the South West of Malta which developed from a small hamlet in the 15th century to one of the largest villages in Malta. An important factor which has contributed to this expansion is migration, as Zebbug attracts many people. It has all the basic services that one usually finds in a small town such as a parish church, Local Council, primary and secondary schools, shops, banks, and a library amongst many others. In recent years, the village of Zebbug has seen a rapid increase in its total population, as demonstrated by the findings of 1965, 1985 and 1995 censuses which stated that the population went from 7,992 in 1965 to 10,869 in 1995 (Census, 1995). More recent demographic reviews also suggest that the trend of population increase has continued in this last decade. This increase in population is likely to be due to two factors: the development of new government housing estates in the periphery of the village and gentrification. There is a renewed interest in previously unoccupied houses of character and farmhouses that are a characteristic of the village core of Zebbug. This dissertation examines in detail the characteristics of the population of Zebbug since the beginning of the nineteenth century till the end of the twentieth. In particular, the study looks at the migration of people to the locality of Zebbug and some aspects of the population like the age-sex structure, births and deaths. The hypotheses are that many migrants to Zebbug came from nearby villages as predicted by Ravesnstein's first rule of migration, that is, there is a distance decay in the number of migrants was tested. This dissertation also examines whether the residents of Zebbug prefer to settle down in the village if the family has lived in Zebbug for more than one generation as well as the recent phenomenon of the re-discovery of village cores on the current population profile of Zebbug. This work will review existing data found in records and literature archived at the Malta National Library in Valletta and the Parish and National Public Registry archives. Information regarding migration is collected through questionnaires to the resident population of Zebbug.