The Maltese trust the government more than the media, according to the results of an autumn 2015 Eurobarometer survey.

The survey found that 51 per cent of Maltese trust the government, whereas only 32 per cent trust the written press, 38 per cent the radio and 47 per cent television.

This contrasts markedly with the EU average, where only 27 per cent of respondents said they trust their government.

The written press enjoys a trust rating of 43 per cent in the EU, radio is at 55 per cent and television 48 per cent.

A report on the Eurobarometer survey said that respondents in Malta are “very positive” about the way democracy works in Malta and in the EU.

“Whereas across the EU opinions tend to be fairly split, in Malta there is a very definite favourable opinion on this matter. Seventy per cent of respondents in Malta claimed to be either very satisfied or fairly satisfied about the way democracy works in the country.

The data for the whole of the EU shows that nine per cent are very satisfied and 43 per cent are fairly satisfied with the way democracy works in their country.

Only Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden have expressed a level of satisfaction higher than that of Malta, the report says.

Fieldwork for the survey was carried out between November 7 and 17, 2015.