The built-up area in outside development zones doubled in size over a 15-year span, covering nine per cent of the country’s surface area in 2005.
The land area in outside development zones covered by buildings or committed to development increased to 30 square kilometres in 2005 from 15 square kilometres in 1990, according to figures released by the National Statistics Office in a publication called Sustainable Development Indicators.
Less drastic was the increase in land area covered by buildings within development zones. While in 1990 the surface area taken up by buildings amounted to 49 per cent, 15 years later this rose to 54 per cent.
The indicators, meant to provide a holistic view of the country’s quality of life, cover a range of indices in the economic, environmental and social fields.
They show the activity rate of women in the economy increased to 40 per cent over a period of eight years to 2008 while that of men dropped to 77 per cent. In 2000, 35 per cent of women aged between 15 and 64 had been active against 81 per cent of similarly aged men.
A new index calculated the economy’s energy intensity, which maps gross domestic product in relation to fuel consumption. While increased GDP normally resulted in higher fuel consumption, since 2005 the NSO noted there were years when this actually dropped. According to the NSO this could have resulted because people were paying higher prices for their electricity bills, leading to more efficiency in the use of fuel.
Another indicator in the publication relates to nitrogen oxide (NO2) emissions, which clearly shows that emissions in Floriana, Sliema and Ħamrun were almost four times higher than those registered in Dingli, Marsalforn and Xlendi.
NO2 emissions in Floriana, Sliema and Ħamrun were almost double those of the national average.
Economist Lino Briguglio was consultant to the NSO on this publication.