Swatar has been an agricultural land since the Arab period in Malta when it was not considered as a reference area on its own. During the Order of St. John the area remained largely uninhabited but the areas in the surroundings were both agricultural and hunting zones. The area started to be populated mostly after
World War II when several families started to settle out of the cities. The
Government of Malta has given financial advantages to acquire and build land in the 1970s and 1980s for families who moved to live there; with similar schemes around Malta. Swatar has had its own spiritual service, by the Roman Catholic Church, since 1989, and became a separate parish in 2008. The current parish priest is Fr Robert Grech. The patron of the church is
Saint George Preca, a Maltese. the
Żgħażagħ Azzjoni Kattolika (ŻAK) and a relative new pastoral center. The pastoral center includes the parish church, a community gathering garden, a car park and a farmhouse. The farmhouse host three main community gathering being; the Adoration Chapel, The carpark is not for general public use. There is a public garden, named
Swatar Garden, which is situated at Balliju Guttenberg Street. The garden is equipped with European standard facilities such as; a 5-a-side football ground, energy efficient lightning and safety and security measures. Swatar hosts a relative large number of companies, banks and other investments, which are mainly situated overlooking the
Mater Dei Hospital on
Birkirkara Bypass. Banks include the headquarters of the
APS Bank and the
HSBC Bank Call Centre. There was a Meditation Centre for some Asian communities in Malta until September 2014 but it was closed for not having legal permits by the
Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA). Swatar is a common housing rental area specifically for students attending the
University of Malta, that are from
Gozo or are on
Erasmus Programme. ==Governance==