Most people in Malta believe that assisted dying should be legal, with only one in four rejecting it outright, according to a Times of Malta poll.

The poll found that 57%  believe it should be legal for a doctor to assist a terminally ill adult to end life if certain conditions are met.

Nearly one in five (17%) said they were uncertain about the matter, with the remaining 25% arguing that it should not be legal at all.

But this suggests that support for euthanasia may have dipped slightly in recent months, with a similar 2024 poll finding that support for assisted dying was at 62%, with only 10% sitting on the fence.

The drop in support of five percentage points is slightly above the survey’s 4% margin of error.

The findings come a few weeks after Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela announced that a bill on doctor-assisted dying would be drafted and discussed this year. The bill is expected to be modelled on the bill that British MPs voted in support of last October. The UK bill still has several stages to pass before it can become law.  

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

Results based on a representative sample of 600 respondents. Data was collected between January 30 and February 12, 2025. Chart: Neville Borg/Times of Malta. Source: Esprimi/Times of Malta. Created with Datawrapper

Support among young people dips

Unlike the previous poll, which found that young people expressed strong support for assisted dying, it is now older respondents between the ages of 45 and 64 who are most open to the prospect of it being legalised.

Younger people under the age of 35, while still broadly in favour of the measure, are more uncertain, showing a similar level of support as people of retirement age.

And women are more reticent, with only 51% of women supporting the introduction of assisted dying, compared to almost two-thirds of men.

The poll also suggests that there is a geographical divide between Malta and sister island Gozo. People in most districts across Malta appear to have a strong level of support for the measure, ranging from 54% in the northern harbour and south-eastern districts, to 64% in the southern harbour.

Women are more reticent, with only 51% of women supporting the introduction of assisted dying

But Gozo stands out as the only district in which fewer than half of the respondents said they favoured an assisted dying bill, with just 43% saying they are keen on the measure. And one in three Gozitans say they are against the measure altogether, more than anywhere else across the Maltese islands.

Labour voters are more open to the introduction of assisted dying than PN voters, the poll finds, echoing a pattern from the 2024 poll.Just over 60% of voters who say they will vote for Labour next election are in favour of its introduction, compared to just 47% of PN voters.

Meanwhile, just over one in five Labour voters say they could be swayed either way, while only one in 10 PN voters are still to make their mind up.

But both are trumped by people who say they will not vote, 63% of whom say they support assisted dying.