The at-risk-of-poverty rate stood at 15.7 per cent in 2013.One in 10 people in Malta suffers from severe material deprivation, according to an income and living conditions survey published by the National Statistics Office.
Additionally, more than a third of households feel they are finding it difficult to make ends meet.
Severe material deprivation affected 9.5 per cent of people living in private households in 2013 while material deprivation stood at 19.4 per cent.
Those deemed to be severely materially deprived are unable to afford at least four of the following: unexpected expenses, a week’s annual holiday away from home, a meal with meat or a vegetarian equivalent every second day, a washing machine, colour TV set, fixed telephone, mobile phone and car, or they are in arrears on a mortgage, rent payments or utility bills. The materially deprived would be those unable to afford at least three of the nine items listed above.
The at-risk-of-poverty rate stood at 15.7 per cent in 2013 while the at-risk-of-poverty-or-social-exclusion rate stood at 24 per cent. The survey showed that the most common types of residential private dwellings in 2013 were apartments, followed by semi-detached or terraced houses.
Just under a third of main dwellings had five rooms.
The largest proportion of households – 28 per cent – consisted of two people. Single-occupant households made up 22.8 per cent and households with at least five people accounted for 8.3 per cent.
Over three-quarters of dwellings were privately owned and 59.5 per cent of households were without a mortgage.
The survey also indicated that tenants lived mainly in households without dependent children (77.1 per cent).
The average monthly housing costs recorded in 2013 were €172 per household. Over half of respondents perceived this cost to be a heavy burden, compared to the 7.3 per cent who considered it to be immaterial.
The share of households that experienced pollution, grime or other environmental problems in their area was 40.2 per cent. A further 32.4 per cent said they were subjected to noise pollution in the neighbourhood.
Over 95 per cent of households owned a telephone, a colour TV set and a washing machine.
Of all the households, 27.1 per cent and 18.5 per cent did not own a computer or a car, respectively, although the rate of households that could not afford them was below four per cent in both cases.
More than half the households replied they could not afford to pay for a one-week annual holiday away from home.
The share of households in arrears with either mortgage or rent payments or utility bills was below 10 per cent. Notwithstanding this, 35.2 per cent said they were finding it difficult to make ends meet.