Malta: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Malta's proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%) fell 0.9 percentage points on 2022 (from 11.3% to 10.4%).

Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2022), the average change was +0.11 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.18 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.5 percentage points in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.1 percentage points in 2021. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 9% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2023, Malta had the 23rd highest value of the 33 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Malta in the 2023 ranking

• Russian Federation — 20th of 33: 10.8%
• Philippines — 21st of 33: 10.6%
• Slovak Republic — 22nd of 33: 10.6%
• Poland — 24th of 33: 8.8%
• Estonia — 25th of 33: 8.7%
• Belgium — 26th of 33: 8.3%

What this measures

The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2021 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.

Limitations: Despite progress in the last decade, the challenges of measuring poverty remain. The timeliness, frequency, quality, and comparability of household surveys need to increase substantially, particularly in the poorest countries. The availability and quality of poverty monitoring data remains low in small states, countries with fragile situations, and low-income countries and even some middle-income countries. The low frequency and lack of comparability of the data available in some countries create uncertainty over the magnitude of poverty reduction. Besides the frequency and timeliness of survey data, other data quality issues arise in measuring household living standards.

All 18 values

Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%) in nearby economies

• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 4.4% (2021)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 12.6% (2023)
• Israel — 21% (2022)
• Pakistan — 7.6% (2024)

More poverty data for Malta

• Income share held by second 20% — 13% (2023)
• Income share held by third 20% — 17.1% (2023)
• Income share held by fourth 20% — 22.4% (2023)
• Income share held by highest 20% — 39.8% (2023)
• Income share held by highest 10% — 24.7% (2023)
• Income share held by lowest 10% — 2.8% (2023)
• Income share held by lowest 20% — 7.6% (2023)
• Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 0.4% (2023)
• Poverty gap at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (%) — 0.2% (2023)
• Gini index — 31.8 (2023)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Malta's proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%)?

10.4% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2006?

It is up 0.8 percentage points from 9.6% in 2006. The highest value was 11.3% in 2022 and the lowest 7.8% in 2021.

How does Malta rank?

23rd highest of 33 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%) unusual for Malta?

In 2023, Malta's proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%) fell 0.9 percentage points on 2022 (from 11.3% to 10.4%). Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2022), the average change was +0.11 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.18 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SI.DST.50MD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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