Answering a parliamentary question which was put to him by Labour MP and party whip, Byron Camilleri, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat stated that the number of civil unions which took place in 2018 was significantly down thanks to the introduction of marriage equality laws.
While 47 civil unions were registered by April 2015 (a year after the civil union had been introduced), and 188 registered by April of 2017, after the introduction of same-sex marriage in 2018, the number of civil unions fell drastically with only 4 unions in total being registered in 2018.
While civil unions did indeed put couples on the same legal level as their married counterparts, many couples seem to prefer the concept of marriage over that of the civil union. Local legislators appear to have been aware that this would be the case once marriage equality was introduced and in 2017 an amendment to the Civil Unions Act ensured that couples who had entered into a civil union before marriage equality laws had come into force would be able to convert their union to a marital one as long as they took this important step before 2022.
Although civil partnership numbers have greatly decreased, it is important to note that any children had in a civil partnership are as protected by law as if their parents were married.
