Countries introduce social protection systems with the purpose of
counteracting many diverse social risks, such as unemployment, old age and
social exclusion, being encountered by their residents. These systems consist of various policies and
programs aimed at different groups of people, each providing protection against
a single risk or need.
This publication provides a broad analysis of Malta’s social protection
system, focusing on data from 2014 to 2018. Data on social expenditure adheres
to the ESSPROS Manual composed by Eurostat and is categorised according to
ESSPROS function and social protection scheme. The former provides the main
theme of the publication with a chapter devoted to each of the eight ESSPROS
functions; (1) sickness, (2) disability, (3) old age, (4) survivors, (5)
family/children, (6) unemployment, (7) housing and (8) social exclusion.
The final chapter of the publication presents an overview of the
geographic location of social benefits recipients in the Maltese Islands, with
data split up to local council level. Various maps have been inserted throughout
the publication to provide a visual perspective of beneficiaries situated in
Malta and Gozo.
Key facts
ESSPROS
Malta’s social outlay amounted to €1,883.2
million in 2018, reflecting a 3.9 per cent rise from 2017.
The main schemes that contributed to the
aforementioned increase were Social Security Contributory Benefits (€29.3
million) and Hospitals and Other Health Care Facilities (€18.7 million).
Overall, eleven of Malta’s eighteen active social protection schemes reported a
rise in expenditure during 2018.
Old Age (€822.0 million) and Sickness/Health
Care (€652.8 million) benefits accounted for 78.3 per cent of the total
spending.
In 2017, €33.1 million of €1,811.8 million was
recouped in social taxes. Hence, net outlay amounted to €1,778.7 million, which
represented a €104.5 million increase over 2016.
The largest share (69.9 per cent) of taxation
was reported under the Social Security Contributory Benefits scheme. Pensioners totalled 91,948 in 2018, with 56.9
per cent being male. Since 2007, the year Pension Beneficiaries
data started to be collected by Eurostat, a 25.1 per cent rise in pensioners
has been noted. Old Age pensions reported the largest number
of recipients (68,297 in 2018).
Social Protection in
the EU
- EU countries spent 26.8 per cent of their
combined GDP to cover social schemes in 2017.
- Social expenditure-to-GDP ratios ranged from
31.7 per cent in France to 14.1 per cent in Romania. Malta (15.9 per cent)
ranked in 23rd place among the EU Member States.
- Non-means tested cash benefits totalled 57.8
per cent of the EU’s social outlay.
- The highest and lowest percentages of the EU’s
social spending were classified under the Old Age (40.5 per cent) and Housing
(1.9 per cent) functions respectively.
- More than a quarter of the EU’s population
(259 persons per 1,000 population) were obtaining a pension in 2017.
- Lithuania reported the largest share of
pensioners in 2017 (33.3 per cent of its population) while Cyprus recorded the
lowest ratio (18.6 per cent). Locally, pensioners accounted for 19.2 per cent
of the population, the second lowest in the EU.
Social security
beneficiaries by locality
- There were 166,183 persons in Malta and Gozo, 33.7 per cent of the total
population, who received at least one type of social security benefit in 2018.
- Women amounted to 55.6 per cent of the total beneficiaries.
- The highest share of recipients were residing in the Southern Harbour
district (413 persons per 1,000 population). Conversely, the lowest ratio of
293 persons per 1,000 population was registered in both the Northern Harbour
and Northern districts.
- At locality level, Floriana
(472 persons per 1,000 population) witnessed the largest proportion of social
benefit recipients, while, Swieqi contained the smallest share (174 persons per
1,000 population).
- Old age benefits were the most commonly received, with 67,224 recipients, or 136 persons
per 1,000 population. Number of recipients ranged from 28.4 per cent of Mdina
residents to 7.4 per cent of persons residing in St. Paul’s Bay.
- Unemployment benefits registered the lowest percentage of beneficiaries, standing at
1.5 per cent of the total population. Marsa (47 persons per 1,000 population)
and Mdina (4 persons per 1,000 population) recorded the largest and lowest unemployment
beneficiaries-to-population ratio respectively.
- There were 49,729 individuals in receipt of a family benefit in
2018, 10.1 per cent of the total population. Xgħajra reported the highest ratio
as 17.1 per cent if its residents obtained a family type benefit. This was in
direct contrast to Tas-Sliema that recorded the lowest proportion of family
recipients (4.0 per cent of its population).
- In 2018, sickness beneficiaries totalled 7.9 per cent of the population in Malta and Gozo. Beneficiaries
ranged from 16.8 per cent of total residents in Cospicua to 2.2 per cent in
Swieqi.
- Cospicua also reported the highest share of social exclusion
benefit recipients, with 14.4 per cent of persons residing in the locality in
receipt of such a benefit. This was 2.8 times higher than the national average
(5.1 per cent).
- There were 34 persons for every 1,000 individuals who were in receipt of
a survivors benefit in 2018, with Hal Luqa (89 persons per 1,000
population) recording the highest share of beneficiaries. Conversely, the
lowest ratio (14 persons per 1,000 population) was reported in Swieqi.
- There were 9,269 persons, or 1.9 per cent of the population, obtaining a
disability benefit in 2018. Xewkija (50 persons
per 1,000 population) reported the highest share of beneficiaries, decuple the
lowest amount reported in Swieqi (5 persons per 1,000 population).
- In 2018, beneficiaries living on the Maltese Islands averaged €5,552 in
benefit income.
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