Ivan Camilleri, Brussels
Maltese are 23 per cent poorer than average EU citizen
On average an EU citizen would be 23 per cent wealthier than a Maltese citizen, according to a set of new statistics published in Brussels yesterday.
Based on first preliminary estimates for last year, Malta's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per inhabitant expressed in an artificial reference currency, known technically as Purchasing Power Standard (PPS), stood at 77 per cent of the EU average. This means that for every €100 at the disposal of an average EU citizen a Maltese citizen would have €77.
The PPS eliminates price level differences between countries. Thus, one PPS unit buys the same volume of goods and services in all countries.
Malta's level of wealth remained the same when compared to 2006, which also stood at 77 per cent of the EU average.
All the "old" EU member states, with the exception of Portugal, fare better than Malta. Some of the new ones that joined the EU together with Malta in 2004 are considered to be richer. Cyprus is a case in point as in 2007 its average citizen was 15 per cent wealthier than an average Maltese. The same applies to Slovene and Czech citizens, although to a lesser degree.
On the other hand, Maltese citizens are on average two per cent richer than those in Portugal, which has been an EU member since 1986.
In the EU, the Luxembourgers and the Irish are considered to be the richest citizens when the average is considered, while at the other end of the scale are newcomers Romania and Bulgaria.
Malta is eligible for the highest amount of EU funding possible under EU rules as when the decision on the seven-year budget was taken in 2005 its GDP was still lower than 75 per cent of the EU GDP average.
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M.Tabone
Jun 26th 2008, 13:58
Some 15 or 20 years ago, countries like Slovenia and the Czech Republic were well behind us. Now......we are lagging back....why? The main culprit is:
lack of political maturity when it comes to national problems/decisions ....maybe now we will achieve it....finally!! Two huge challenges that our country is facing is the privitasation of the parasite called dockyard and the influx never ending of illegal immigrants. If nothing concretely is done to overcome these problems we will continue falling behind!!!
A Camilleri
Jun 26th 2008, 12:23
What quality of life; the traffic congestion on the islands, the road worthiness, the air you breathe, the construction madness going on, the stress children and parents go through in their schooling, the natural parks we do not have, the stress you bulid up when driving to work or any other errand, parking in Sliema or surrounding areas to mention just a few, traffic jams in the infernal Summer heat, swimming in jellyfish infested waters, the family purchasing power, the unspoilt outdoors!, competing with the Jones's, the noise pollution, shall I go on. My friend, I live in mainland Europe and let me tell you that the grass IS greener on this side!
Dominic Newland
Jun 26th 2008, 11:56
Using the word 'poorer' in the headline is a simplification since wealth should take into account assets as well as spending ability. PPS will tell us how much of a basket of goods could be consumed in exchange for the production of the average worker. It does not tell us, for example, how much each person's pension saving is worth, how much equity they have in their house, nor how much the government has borrowed and spent in their name. In addition, surely housing skews the result for Malta since most countries survey actual rentals, but for countries with unrepresentative rental markets a "quantity approach" based on dwelling stock estimates is used instead.
So are the Maltese poor because their income buys a smaller property than in Sweden, or are they rich because their little houses are worth a lot?
Paul Barrett
Jun 26th 2008, 11:48
PPS is only one measurement of richness. Malta and their citizens are far richer in other aspects such as quality of life, especially from the stress point of view, lifestyle and family togetherness.
PPS may well be a polluted (or false) measure for Malta as it is a very small island where economy of scale regarding imports more all items more expensive than on a larger island or mainland Europe.
The grass is always greener on the other side but be careful not to loose what you already have in trying to achieve it.