One World - An Indication on the State of our Environment (02)

Are sectoral contributions to GDP moving in environmentally-friendly directions?

To ensure an environmentally sustainable future, economic activities in Malta will need to reduce their overall resource consumption and the pressure they place on the environment. Following the same trend as other EU countries, there has been a shift in Malta towards a more service-oriented economy over the past years, which could indicate a move towards cleaner economic growth, depending on the performance of the individual sectors. Between 2006 and 2007, direct production fell by one per cent from 24.38 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 23.38 per cent. The share of the manufacturing industry continued to decrease, falling from 16.52 per cent to 16.27 per cent of GDP in 2007. The construction sector registered a slight decrease of 0.13 per cent between 2006 and last year, and the group of sectors of electricity, gas and water supply decreased by 0.28 per cent. In 2007 the share of services in total GDP was 76.62 per cent, increasing from 75.62 per cent in 2006. Real estate, renting and business activities increased their share by 0.65 per cent, while other community, social and personal service activities increased their share by 1.97 per cent. In addition the share of hotels and restaurants increased by 0.06 per cent between 2006 and 2007.

Source: NSO (National Statistics Office). 2008. Gross Domestic Product for 2007, News Release No. 039/2008, March 10.