Malta: Public expenditure rises by 30 percent in five years

The General Government expenditure between in the years between 2015 and 2019 increased by 30 percent to reach €4.99 billion. Figures by the National Statistics Office show that Social Protection consistently absorbs the highest share of expenditure although it decreased from 30.1 percent of the total in 2015 to 29.1 percent in 2019.

The biggest rise in expenditure by function over the five-year period was observed in Housing and Community Amenities, rising by 59.5 percent from €35.3 million in 2015 to €56.3 million in 2019. Within this category, community development registered the highest rise (+€29.3M) while housing development experienced the sharpest drop (-€7.6M).

Expenditure in Environmental Protection rose by 3.6 percent from 2015 to 2019, the lowest increase across all functions.

In 2019, total General Government expenditure increased by €414.1 million over 2018. Social protection registered the largest expenditure increase (€100.5 million) and was the primary expenditure function amounting to €1.5 billion.