Malta Insights

How historic Valletta aims to hit net zero by cutting pollution from cruise ships and cars

By Ben Payton Few European cities can match Valletta for architectural splendour. The capital of Malta was built in the 16th century by the Knights of St John, the Catholic…

Read More Here

Earthquake in Greece causes tremors across Malta

Tremors were felt across Malta on Friday morning, as a 5.8 magnitude earthquake described as 'moderately strong' was reported in Greece. The Times of Malta reported rooms shaking and waking…

Read More Here

Traffic casualties increase in Q4- NSO

During the fourth quarter of 2023, road traffic accidents and casualties increased when compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the NSO revealed today. Road traffic fatalities amounted…

Read More Here

06

Oct

FELTOM Welcomes News of New Airline But Voices Concerns About Diminished Connectivity

The Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations in Malta (FELTOM) expressed its satisfaction with the news that Malta will retain an independent national airline, whilst also welcoming the long-awaited announcement…

Read More Here

Malta jails Libyan hijack accomplice

VALLETTA (Reuters) - A supporter of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi who was involved in the hijacking of an aircraft to Malta in 2016 has been jailed for 10 years…

Read More Here

Malta: Deficit drops to just over €90m in August

Government’s Consolidated Fund at the end of August 2023 reported a deficit of €90.2 million by the end of August. Between January and August 2023, Recurrent Revenue amounted to €4,157.6…

Read More Here

Take-out prices drive Maltese inflation in August – NSO

In August 2023, the annual rate of inflation as measured by the RPI was 4.0 per cent, down from 4.7 per cent in July 2023. Fresh NSO data shows that…

Read More Here

Malta: GDP grows by 3.9% in second quarter

Provisional estimates published by the NSO indicate that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2023 amounted to €4.7 billion, registering an increase of €416.9 million, or…

Read More Here

Malta: Central Bank revises growth forecast to 3.7%

According to the Central Bank of Malta's latest forecasts, Malta's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 3.7% this year, down from just above 7% in 2022 and…

Read More Here

Public library book-lending among Maltese on the increase – NSO

The local population is loaning an increasing number of books from Malta's public libraries. Fresh NSO data shows that in 2022, total book loans stood at 659,616, an increase of…

Read More Here

Malta records third largest EU increase in retail sales

Retail sales in the euro zone were unchanged in May, Eurostat said on Thursday, as increased spending on non-food items offset declines for food and automotive fuel. Retail sales volumes…

Read More Here

Malta: Migrant arrivals drop by 47% in 2022

During 2022, 10 boat landings were recorded in Malta, with 445 persons being brought to Maltese shores (including persons air lifted at sea), a decrease of 46.9 per cent when…

Read More Here

Malta – Central Bank warns of economic slowdown

According to the Central Bank of Malta's latest forecasts, Malta's gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to slow down from around 7.0% in 2022, to 4.0% in 2023, and…

Read More Here

Malta: 16.7% of population at risk of poverty – NSO

The number of persons living in households with an income below the at-risk-of-poverty line (€10,893) was 85,797. This translates into an at-risk-of-poverty (ARP) rate of 16.7 per cent in 2021,…

Read More Here

Malta: Debt levels top €9 billion despite end of pandemic assistance

Government debt has topped €9 billion, NSO data has shown. By end of April, the State has accumulated €9,163.0 million of debt, an increase of €630.6 million when compared to…

Read More Here

56,675 foreign students attend English courses in Malta in 2022

In 2022, foreign students attending English language courses at local licensed English Language Teaching (ELT) schools amounted to 56,675, marking an increase of 28,822 over 2021. NSO data shows that…

Read More Here

Making the four-day week work

Two workers glide between a computer screen and a stainless steel vat making face cream, a scientist in a white coat mixes a formula and a colleague sticks labels on…

Read More Here

NSO says Malta GDP grew by 6.9% in 2022

Provisional NSO estimates indicate that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2022 amounted to €16,870.3 million, registering an increase of €1,868.4 million, or 12.5 per cent, when compared to 2021.…

Read More Here

Malta: FDI tops €2bn in first six months of 2022

Foreign direct investment flows were estimated to be €2.0 billion during the first six months of 2022. The main contributors to FDI flows were Financial and insurance activities, accounting for…

Read More Here

Malta: Fixed energy prices should be limited in time and scope – IMF

Government should prepare an exit strategy from the fixed-energy-price policy while protecting vulnerable groups. In its annual assessment of Malta's economic and financial performance, the Fund said that this strategy…

Read More Here

Malta registers largest drop in household expenditure

Malta reported the largest decrease in household expenditure in the European Union between 2019 and 2021, according to Eurostat. From 2019 to 2021, 16 EU Member States registered a decrease…

Read More Here

Malta: Inflation tops 7.35% by end of year

In December 2022, the annual rate of inflation as measured by the RPI was 7.35 per cent, up from the 7.12 per centin November 2022, the NSO said today. The…

Read More Here

Malta: Debt levels reach €8.73bn – NSO

General Government debt has reached €8.73 billion, or 53.2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), NSO data shows. In the third quarter of 2022, the government has also recorded…

Read More Here

Malta: 11% increase in persons adding a part-time job to their full-time

The number of part-timers who held both a full-time and part-time job increased by 11% in just a year, the NSO said. Fresh data by the Statistics office shows that…

Read More Here

Central Bank revises Malta’s 2023 expected growth rate downwards

According to the Central Bank of Malta latest forecasts, Malta's gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to grow by 6.8% this year, and by 3.7% in 2023, followed by growth…

Read More Here

Malta: Food prices drive inflation above 7.5%

In September 2022, the annual rate of inflation as measured by the RPI was 7.52 per cent, up from the 6.98 per centin August 2022, the NSO said today. The…

Read More Here

Malta registers second largest drop in employees in the cultural sector

In 2021, 7.36 million people were employed in the cultural sector in the EU, representing 3.7% of total employment. At the EU level, the number of people working in culture in the…

Read More Here

Malta: Debt levels reach €8.56 billion by August

By the end of August 2022, the Government’s Consolidated Fund reported a deficit of €359.0 million, the NSO said, while debt levels continued to increase - now reaching €8.56 billion,…

Read More Here

518 new books published in Malta in 2021

In 2021, a total of 518 new book titles were published in Malta by 53 local active book publishers, with the figure remaining stable on the previous year. NSO data…

Read More Here

Malta: Inflation tops 7% in August, still lower than EU average

Inflation has reached 7%, fresh data by the NSO has confirmed. The statistics office said that in August 2022, the annual rate of inflation as measured by the HICP was…

Read More Here

Malta: Survey shows more people struggle to pay mortgage, rent and utility bills

Based on the income year 2020, the number of at-risk-of-poverty persons living in Malta was estimated at 85,754. During 2021, respondents who said that their household was in arrears on…

Read More Here

Malta: Services push economy towards strong rebound in Q2

Provisional estimates released by the NSO indicate that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2022 amounted to €4,100.4 million, registering an increase of €526.6 million, or…

Read More Here

Malta: Unemployment drops further in July

In July 2022, the number of persons registering for work stood at 925 decreasing by 617 when compared to the corresponding month in 2021. Data provided by Jobsplus for July…

Read More Here

Malta registers higher deficit, debt levels in first seven months of 2022

By the end of July 2022, the Government’s Consolidated Fund reported a deficit of €514.9 million. In parallel, debt levelshave gone up to €8.5 billion, an increase of €709.4 million…

Read More Here

Malta’s population grows by almost 25% in a decade, Census shows

Over a century, the population of Malta has more than doubled (by 2.5 times), while in the past 10 years, it grew by nearly a quarter, reaching 519,562. This was…

Read More Here

Malta: Further drop in unemployment

Malta's unemployment rate for June 2022 stood at 3.0%, the NSO said today. This reflected a drop of 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. For the month under review,…

Read More Here

Malta’s financial system’s resilience and performance improve despite challenging times – Central Bank

A report by the Central Bank of Malta shows that despite the high uncertainty surrounding the global economic climate, banks reported improved asset quality owing to both reduced NPLs and…

Read More Here

Inflation in Malta tops 6%, but still lowest in the EU

The euro area annual inflation rate reached a staggering 8.6% in June 2022, up from 8.1% in May, Eurostat said today. A year earlier, the rate was 1.9%. European Union…

Read More Here

Less than a thousand registering for work – NSO

The NSO reported that there are only 961 persons still registering for work, with the number being more than halved over the past twelve months. Data provided by Jobsplus for…

Read More Here

Malta’s 2022 deficit grows to €373 by end of May

By the end of May 2022, the Government’s Consolidated Fund reported a deficit of €373.2 million, the NSO said today. In the first five months of 2022, Recurrent Revenue amounted…

Read More Here

Jobsplus data shows 10,000 jobs created in January

In January 2022, registered full-time employment increased by 4.6 per cent while part-time employment as a primary job increased by 6.0 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in…

Read More Here

Malta: Unemployment rate down to 3.1%

The unemployment rate for April 2022 stood at 3.1 per cent, the NSO reported today, therefore declining by 0.1 percentage points when compared with the previous month and by 0.3…

Read More Here

Malta: Services push GDP up by almost 7% in first quarter

During the first quarter of 2022, Malta's GDP rose by 10.8 per cent in nominal terms and 6.9 per cent in volume terms, when compared to the corresponding quarter of…

Read More Here

Malta’s finances €388 million in the red after four months

By the end of April 2022, Government has already accumulated a deficit exceeding 388 million euro, data released by the NSO has shown. In the first four months of 2022,…

Read More Here

Malta: Unemployment levels drop below 1,000

In April, the number of persons registering for work stood at 963 decreasing by 1,285 when compared to the corresponding month in 2021, the NSO said today. Data provided by…

Read More Here

Malta: Early school leavers drop by a half over a decade

The share of 'early school leavers,’ a term that refers to early leavers from education and training (aged 18-24), has steadily decreased in the EU over the last 10 years,…

Read More Here

Malta: Domestic demand fuel economic growth, exports’ contribution marginal – CBM

Domestic demand was the main driver behind GDP growth during the last three months of 2021, the CBM has found. In its quarterly review, it said that the contribution of…

Read More Here

Malta: Food prices drive inflation levels above 5%

In April 2022, the annual rate of inflation as measured by the HICP edged up further, reaching 5.4%, up from 4.5% March, the NSO said. As a result, the 12-month…

Read More Here

Malta: French, German and Italian tourists push tourism upwards in March

Total inbound tourists for March 2022 were estimated at 110,938, while total nights spent amounted to 739,194, the NSO said today, signalling the best March in three years. During the…

Read More Here

Unemployment: Jobless rate stable at 3% in March

The unemployment rate for March 2022 stood at 3.0 per cent, declining by 0.1 percentage points when compared with the previous month and by 0.8 percentage points from March 2021.…

Read More Here

33% of Maltese households cant afford one-week annual holidays

33.1 per cent of the surveyed population stated that their household could not afford to pay for a one-week annual holiday away from home. Furthermore, 15.7 per cent declared that…

Read More Here

Malta: Government deficit reaches 8% in 2021

In 2021, the General Government registered a deficit of €1,161.7 million, equivalent to 8.0 per cent of GDP. The General Government debt amounted to €8,284.4 million or 57.0 per cent…

Read More Here

Malta registers increase in FDI in 2021

As at the end of 2021, the Maltese economy recorded a net international investment position of €7.7 billion, the NSO reported today. When compared to the figures recorded at the…

Read More Here

More than 1m people travel between Malta and Gozo in first three months of 2022

During the first quarter of 2022, sea transport between Malta and Gozo registered increases in trips, passengers and vehicles when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2021, the NSO said…

Read More Here

Malta: Slight increase in property sales in first three months of 2022, but promises of sale collapse

In the first quarter of 2022, 3,373 final deeds of sale were registered, an annual increase of 2.9 per cent, the NSO said today. The value of the deeds registered…

Read More Here

Malta: Significant drop in unemployment in pre-election month

In February, the number of persons registering for work stood at 1,125, the NSO said today. This figure means that persons looking for work decreased by 1,460 when compared to…

Read More Here

Malta: Government ends 2021 with €1.24bn deficit

The public purse has ended the year 2021 with a deficit of 1.24 billion euro, the NSO reported today. Compared to the same period in 2020, there was a decrease…

Read More Here