Figures which showed a sharp drop in the number of people in severe material deprivation in Malta confirmed how Malta was not only growing its economy, but it was also generating prosperity for its people, Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon said on Wednesday.

He was reacting to data issued by Eurostat which showed that those in severe material deprivation in Malta, at 14,000, were a third of what they were four years ago. 

Dr Falzon said Malta's data was now close to that of rich nations such as the Scandinavian countries. 

“Not only have the numbers lowered, but various areas of the population have been affected,” he said. “The situation got better across the board.”   

The result was “historic” and a record for the country, he said.

“The feminization of poverty no longer exists,” he added, saying that statistics show that both women and men faced lower risks of poverty.

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Ministry advisor Maja Brinworth said that the government has a “moving target” for deprivation, explaining that the task for the ministry is to continue targeting different groups at different levels of poverty.

Higher educated people were usually most expected to be at lower risk of social material deprivation, she said. However, the highest rate in decline of social material deprivation came from those without upper secondary and tertiary education.

Dr Falzon also noted that unemployment had fallen to 3.3 per cent whereas it was 10 per cent in 2013.