Malta dropped eight spots to 48^th place in the latest World Happiness Report published on Thursday, which found that the Maltese feel less free and are less likely to volunteer or help strangers than they once were.

The annual report ranks 147 countries worldwide, scoring each based on factors such as life expectancy, generosity, perceptions of corruption, and social support.

Malta’s average score for 2024 - based on the previous three years - stands at 6.316 (out of 10) - a slight decrease from 6.346 in 2023. This means that Malta is now sandwiched between Vietnam and Nicaragua just ahead of it, and Thailand, Slovakia and Latvia on its tail.

Malta’s ranking is now at its lowest in over a decade, matching its 48th-place ranking in 2012.

However, the report notes that Malta has still become happier over the past decade, with its current score higher than in 2012.

Malta had climbed the scoretable for several years, reaching a high of 22^nd place in 2019, only to begin a year-on-year descent in 2020.

Nordic states once again dominate the rankings.

Finland remains the world’s happiest country, according to the report, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands in the top five.

Their high rankings were largely driven by low levels of inequality, strong social support systems and greater freedoms.

Generous with money, less so with time

The report finds that Malta has retained strong scores in several areas in which it typically performs well, although its scores have dropped slightly.

Malta remains one of the most generous countries in the world, the report finds, although it has fallen from 2023’s third place to 15^th the following year.

While the Maltese are among the most generous with money (only five countries have donated more to charity, according to the report) they are far less generous with their time.

Malta ranks just 53^rd for volunteering (dropping 16 places in a year) and 103^rd when it comes to helping strangers.

But Malta scores strongly for social support, suggesting that people can rely on friends or family to come to their aid when in need.

And Malta’s life expectancy is the 11^th best in the world at almost 71 years, the report says.

Stronger economy, higher perception of corruption

Meanwhile, Malta’s economic indicators remain strong and are getting stronger, with its GDP per capita now up to 17^th in the rankings.

This has also contributed to an improvement in Malta’s inequality ranking, rising from 113th in 2010 to 43rd in 2024.

But perceptions of corruption have also gotten worse in recent years, dropping from a decade-long high of 21^st in 2018 to 67^th in 2024, a marginal improvement from the previous year’s 72^nd ranking.

And Malta’s score for freedom is still struggling to recover from a sharp dip in recent years.

When asked whether they are happy with the freedom to do what they like with their life, people in Malta typically ranked just outside the top 10 for much of the past 15 years. But this dropped from 15^th in 2020 to 52^nd just two years later and has barely budged since.