Spain, Portugal and Italy are just a few of the major European countries that are less prosperous than Malta, according to a new international report.
Published this week, Legatum Institute’s 2014 Prosperity Report put Malta in 23rd place out 142 countries in a rigorous study of citizens’ “good life”.
The index combines national and international performance indicators affecting 96 per cent of the world’s population and 99 per cent of global GDP. It studied three years of data.
Prosperity, the report says, can be calculated by estimating economic performance, education, health, personal freedom, safety, security and entrepreneurship.
Malta fared reasonably well on all fronts, with its best results coming in the ‘social capital section’. Maltese, the report said, had the 18th best social networking skills and 15th best access to social influence in the world.
Some 91 per cent said they were satisfied with their education, a third higher than the average across all countries included.
The Maltese also live for longer than many other nationalities, with an average life expectancy of 80; 10 years beyond the global average.
While health was not an issue, many Maltese still had a lot on their mind. In fact, 60 per cent said they had worried about something serious the day before, nearly twice the international average.
Just 38 per cent said they trusted magistrates and judges, 15 per cent less than the global average
Malta was below average when it came to the ease of opening new businesses.
About 60 per cent said it was not that difficult to set up a company on the island, 10 per cent below the international average.
While Malta scored highly in terms of confidence in elections and the government, the result was low for confidence in the judiciary. Just 38 per cent said they trusted magistrates and judges, 15 per cent below the global average.
In the safety and security section, the Maltese were better off than most.
Only two per cent said they had been assaulted in the past year, five per cent less than the other nationalities. The Maltese were also less likely to be robbed and felt safer walking home at night.
On the whole, Norway was the most prosperous, retaining the title for the sixth year in a row.
The Scandinavian country is often touted as the best place for a number of reasons, with other reports published this year highlighting it as the ideal location for raising a family, starting a business and even owning pets.
Switzerland ranked second for the second consecutive year and New Zealand has risen to third from fifth since last year. The UK was the most prosperous of all the major EU member states.