Malta ranked 19th in the overall Prosperity Index rankings. The Prosperity Index is published by Legatum and ranks a total of 149 countries.
Since the Prosperity Index began in 2007, Malta has moved up the rankings table by 7 places.
In the Prosperity Pillar rankings, Malta performs best on Safety & Security(6th) and Social Capital (10th) and scores lowest on the Business Environment pillar (54th).
In the Economic performance, the country ranks 15th.
In terms of Governance, the country ranks 24th, while 40th in Education.
Source: Legatum
The biggest positive change, compared to last year, came in Natural Environment increasing by 9 places to 42nd, whereas it dropped 2 places on Social Capital (10th).
The index states that global prosperity continues to rise and is at its highest ever point; the median score has moved up the equivalent of 15 places since 2007.
Since 2013, 113 countries have improved their Prosperity Score, and since last year 95 countries improved their score. However, this improvement is not shared equally.
Business Environment has seen the largest one year gain at a global level, having risen in every region. The greatest 10 year gains have been in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe, and one of the main drivers is an improvement in the entrepreneurial environment in these regions. Sub-Saharan Africa in particular has seen the largest improvement in the ease of starting a business.
Eastern Europe is one of the strongest risers this year. This is due to improvements in Business Environment, Natural Environment and Personal Freedom, with Lithuania, Romania and Estonia seeing the largest rises in the last 5 years. It is the fourth placed region overall, with its best ranking in Education, where it is the third best region in the world.
