A third of Maltese would like to live abroad, with most of them saying they would seek pastures new in the hope of finding a better environment, fewer crowds and higher pay, according to a Times of Malta poll.

But more than half of respondents say they have no desire to leave the country, while a further 7% are unsure over whether or not to stay.

The poll, carried out by market research firm Esprimi, surveyed 600 people between January 30 and February 12.

Young people want to stay, older adults want to leave

The findings suggest that fewer people are looking to leave the country now compared to 2023, when previous Times of Malta polls found that people saying they wanted to leave regularly topped the 40% mark.

And the survey presents a curious contrast between younger people, most of whom say they want to stay, and older respondents, many of whom say they would like to move elsewhere.

Only a quarter of respondents under the age of 25 want to leave the country, the survey finds, with a third of those between the ages of 25 and 34 feeling the same way.

Meanwhile, half of the respondents between the ages of 55 and 65 say they would like to leave, more than those who want to stay.

And people of retirement age are even more keen to leave, with only a third saying they wouldn’t like to live abroad.

Poor environment, overcrowding, better working conditions

Of all the people who say they would like to live abroad, almost half (43%) attribute this to wanting a better natural environment.

A third argue that Malta is getting too crowded for their liking, with a further third saying that they would like to leave in the hope of finding better working conditions.

Several others also pointed to other reasons, including the cost of living, traffic, and limited educational opportunities as the reason for wanting to leave.

Labour voters want to stay, PN voters split

Unsurprisingly, political affiliations play into people’s desire to either stay in the country or leave, the survey suggests.

People who say they will vote Labour next election are overwhelmingly eager to stay put, with four out of every five saying that they have no desire to leave the country, up from the two-thirds who felt the same way in a March 2023 poll.

PN voters, on the other hand, have more mixed feelings, with those who say they would like to leave (49%) marginally outnumbering those who want to stay (46%).

Respondents who plan to abstain are similarly ambivalent, evenly split between those who would like to live abroad (45%) and those who don’t (47%).