Maltese are EU's biggest spenders on transport
The main reason may be a poor public transport service
Despite living in the smallest country in the EU, the Maltese dedicate the largest share of household budgets to transport, according to new statistics issued in Brussels.
In 2005 Maltese households allocated 16.6 per cent of their monthly budget to transport, which mainly includes fuel costs for cars and public transport whereas, on average, EU households spend 11.9 per cent of their budgets for the same reasons.
The figures, released by Eurostat, compare how EU households spend their money, based on each country's household budgetary survey.
Eurostat officials told The Times that the amount of money spent by Maltese households on transport is surprising, particularly due to the small size of the territory.
"Although an in-depth explanation needs further study, this definitely shows a Maltese car culture and a dependency on private transport over public transport services. The main reason may be attributed to a poor public transport service," an official said.
The survey shows that in 2005, Maltese households spent almost a quarter of their budget (24 per cent) on food, beverages and tobacco while a fifth (19.8 per cent) was spent on housing needs including water and electricity, gas, furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house.
According to the EU's statistics office, another sizeable chunk of an average Maltese household budget, 10.1 per cent, went on recreation and culture and 8.3 per cent was allocated to clothing and footwear.
The smallest cost for the average Maltese household was education, getting only 1.2 per cent of the budget.
Overall, the spending patterns of EU households are similar to that of Malta although there are differences between individual countries.
On average, in the EU 27 households spend 33.1 per cent of their budget on housing, which includes utilities, followed by 19.4 per cent on food, beverages and tobacco. Another 8.4 per cent is allocated to recreation and culture.
Eurostat said that spending patterns vary depending on disposable income. For example, purchases of food, beverages and tobacco made up a quarter of the expenditure for those households with the lowest disposable income and housing gobbled up 37 per cent of spending. In the most well-off households, the figures were 15 and 31 per cent respectively. On the other hand, the richest households spent a larger proportion of their expenditure on transport, recreation and culture and restaurants and hotels when compared with those with the lowest disposable income.