Elderly people aged over 65 in the north of Malta are at the greatest risk of poverty, to the tune of 22.4 per cent. The category is closely followed by elderly people in Gozo and Comino, at 22.1 per cent.

Answering parliamentary questions by Labour MP Anthony Agius Decelis, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said the percentages per region were 19.5 per cent in the southern harbour area, 15.9 per cent in the northern harbour area, 21.2 per cent in the southeast and 19.4 per cent in the west.

When it came to children aged up to 17 years, the figures per region were 31.7 per cent in the southern harbour, 19.7 per cent in the northern harbour, 17.6 per cent in the southeast, 17 per cent in the west, 17.7 per cent in the north and 18.9 per cent in Gozo and Comino.