The National Statistics Office has recently published the first ever set of data related to the regional concept. The NSO data provides information on a number of variables split up between the island of Malta and the island of Gozo. This has become important because of the designation of Gozo as a region that is distinct from Malta, because of what is referred to as double insularity.
Malta has certain disadvantages because of its insularity. Those difficulties are compounded for Gozo because it is itself an island forming part of an island state.
Gozo covers an area that is just over one fourth that of Malta, that is one-fifth of the total. However, the population is just 7.8 per cent of the total. Thus, the population density per square kilometre is far more in Malta than it is in Gozo. In Gozo it stands at 455 per square kilometres, while in the island of Malta it stands at 1,484. The population density for the Maltese islands as a whole is 1,260 per square kilometres.
The distinct features of Gozo do not stop here. An analysis of households shows that overall 77.6 per cent of households live in owned accommodation. However, in Gozo the percentage of households that live in owned accommodation (as opposed to rented accommodation) rises to 94.9 per cent.
This investment in homes becomes even more accentuated when one notes that for the islands of Malta as a whole the percentage of households that live in owned accommodation with no outstanding loan stands at 57.7 per cent, while the corresponding figure for Gozo on its own is 79.6 per cent.
More than three quarters of Gozitan households live in terraced houses, while the relative figure for the island of Malta is 47.6 per cent. 23.5 per cent of Gozitan households have a second home, while just 10.9 per cent of Maltese households have a second home.
Although the percentage of households that are considered as poor in Malta and Gozo does not differ much, it still is 2.5 per cent lower in Gozo than it is in Malta.
On this basis it does not appear that Gozitans are at a disadvantage when compared to persons living in the island of Malta.
However, when it comes to employment, the Gozitans start falling behind. The number of gainfully occupied persons as a percentage of the total population is 31.6 per cent in Gozo, while for the whole of the Maltese islands it stands at 38 per cent. In terms of gender, 41.1 per cent of males living in Gozo are gainfully occupied while 22.7 per cent of females are in a gainful occupation. The corresponding figures for the whole of Malta are 23.6 per cent for females and 53.8 per cent for males. Thus, whereas the employment rate of females in Gozo is similar to that of the rest of the country, the employment rate for males is far less.
The incidence of self-employed in Gozo is not much different than that for the rest of Malta. On the other hand the incidence of employment with the public sector is higher in Gozo than in the rest of Malta, while the incidence of employment in the private sector is lower. By implication, Gozitans working in the private sector are more likely to be self-employed than in Malta.
Total gross value-added for Gozo represents 5.6 per cent of the total. The primary sector takes up 7.2 per cent of total value-added in Gozo, the secondary sector takes up 17.5 per cent, while the tertiary sector takes up 75.3 per cent of total value-added. The respective figures for Malta are 2.8 per cent for the primary sector, 27 per cent for the manufacturing sector and 70.2 per cent for the tertiary sector.
This is a clear indication of the greater importance of the primary and tertiary sectors for the Gozitan economy. It is not something that should be considered as a disadvantage as other island regions in Europe have a similar economic structure.
The indicator that is generally considered to be the primary indicator of wealth is the gross domestic product. In this case the Gozitan economy lags far behind as it is a good 29 per cent below average.
The reason for this is twofold. First, employment levels are lower in Gozo, and the second, incomes are also likely to be lower in the island than in the rest of Malta.
All this data may provide food for gossip. The nature of the gossip depends on which side of the fence one is. This data also confirms (as if confirmation was ever needed) that Gozo is indeed different to Malta and needs to be treated as such.
The setting up of the Ministry for Gozo was not a political gimmick but an effort at developing the Gozitan economy on lines that are different from those of Malta. These regional statistics should not just serve to enable Gozo to access funds from the European Union, but rather should serve for the policy makers to chart out an economic development strategy that is meaningful to the island.