The Maltese feel a little better off than their average EU counterpart, despite living in a country with a lower GDP per capita.
According to an EU survey, carried out in Malta last September, just over half (53 per cent) of respondents feel poverty is widespread on the island. Though this may seem high, it is much lower than the results obtained in the rest of the EU where, on average, the number of those feeling that poverty is widespread reaches 73 per cent.
Malta ranks fourth among the 27 EU member states whose population feels that poverty is not widespread. The Swedes, the Danes and the Cypriots are more positive than we are.
The study also tried to find out how EU citizens are managing to cope with daily living challenges.
Asked whether their monthly household income is enough to make ends meet by the end of the month, 24 per cent of the Maltese interviewed said they could cope easily with their monthly expenses while the majority, 65 per cent, felt they could manage well. On the other hand, nine per cent of Maltese respondents said it was very difficult for them to live a decent life as their income was not enough to meet their monthly needs.
Still, on average, the EU is fairing worse than Malta because those saying they have difficulty to make ends meet at the end of the month reaches 12 per cent.
Although poverty can have a different meaning to different people, the majority of Maltese link it with the high cost of housing. Among the 27 EU populations, Malta tops the list of those who think that buying a house is becoming less affordable. The study shows that 86 per cent of Maltese respondents said that decent housing was too expensive on the island. In the EU, 67 per cent feel the same way.
The EU survey shows that EU citizens are strongly aware of poverty and social exclusion, with 73 per cent feeling that poverty in their country is widespread.
High unemployment (52 per cent) and insufficient wages (49 per cent) are the most widely perceived social explanations for poverty, together with insufficient social benefits and pensions (29 per cent) and the excessive cost of decent housing (26 per cent).
On the other hand, a lack of education or skills (37 per cent) as well as inherited poverty (25 per cent) and addiction (23 per cent) are the most widely perceived personal reasons behind poverty.
Well over half of Europeans (56 per cent) believe the unemployed are most at risk of poverty, 41 per cent think that the elderly are most vulnerable while 31 per cent cite those with a low level of education, training or skills.