Survey shows north is wealthier than the south

The average annual disposable income per household in 2000/2001 stood at Lm8,202, according to statistics released yesterday by the National Statistics Office.

Of these, private households earned an average annual net salary of Lm4,915 and Lm1,393 in social benefits. On a district basis, households within the Northern district earned most while households within the Southern harbour district earned least. In fact households in the Northern district earned an average disposable income of Lm9,401 annually, whilst households in the Southern harbour earned an average disposable income of Lm7,030 annually.

The NSO said it will next month be publishing a publication that will contain detailed information regarding household characteristics, possessions, income and expenditure.

The publication will form part of a series of scheduled releases based on a Household Budgetary Survey (HBS) carried out between March 2000 and March 2001.

Most of the information is categorised by gender, age, economic activity, and level of education. On the other hand information regarding households is categorised according to household size and structure, and the status of the reference person.

The HBS is carried out approximately every five years and is designed to study the standard of living of the Maltese population. It is also used to update the weights for constructing the Consumer Price Index and as a basis for the revision of consumers' expenditure.

Using estimates derived from the Census of Population and Housing 1995 it was estimated that there were 127,970 households in Malta at the end of the survey period. Institutional households, such as homes for the elderly, and hospitals, were excluded from this survey.

It was estimated that annually, on average, households spent Lm1,827 on food, beverages and tobacco, Lm635 on clothing and footwear, Lm691 on housing and energy, Lm817 on household equipment and house maintenance, Lm231 on health, Lm1,489 on transport and communications, Lm766 on recreation and culture, Lm634 on education, catering and accommodation services, and Lm589 on other services. The total average annual consumption expenditure per household stood at Lm7,678, compared with an average disposable income of Lm8,202.

Households earning a disposable income of over Lm9,900 spent most. In fact it was found that these households spent Lm11,167 on consumption items annually. On the other hand, households earning between Lm0-Lm4,100 disposable income spent an average of Lm4,037 annually.

On a gender level men earned an average disposable income of Lm4,069 annually, whilst women earned an average of Lm1,418 annually. By age group household members within the 50-59 years age bracket earned most. In fact, the average annual disposable income for this group stood at Lm4,074. On the other hand, household members within the 0-19 years age bracket earned least. In fact these persons earned an average disposable income of Lm198 annually.

Of the total population residing in private households, it was found that 378,300 persons, or 98.1 per cent, were Maltese nationals. The average age stood at 36 years. Some 196,100 persons, or 50.9 per cent, were married whilst 167,620 persons, or 43.4 per cent, were single. It was estimated that 277,970 household members, or 72.1 per cent, had completed their education whilst another 94,320, or 24.4 per cent, were still receiving education.

Of the 127,970 reference persons it was estimated that 78,330, or 61.2 per cent, were employed. Of the remaining, 39,780 were retired, 5,190 were housekeepers, 4,390 were unemployed, whilst the rest were also inactive. Of all persons, 50.9 per cent of males were employed, as opposed to only 22.3 per cent of females. On the other hand no males were housekeepers, as opposed to 40.1 per cent of females.

It was found that 20,420 households, or 16 per cent, were composed of people living on their own. Another 59,050 households, or 46.1 per cent, had between two and three members. Of the remaining, 30,470, or 23.7 per cent had four household members, whilst only 18,030, or 14.1 per cent, have five or more household members.

It was estimated that the majority of households, or 54.6 per cent, had no dependent children. On the other hand 37.2 per cent of households had between one and two dependent children.

It was estimated that 93,120, or 72.8 per cent, of reference persons owned at least one vehicle (cars, vans and motorcycles). On the other hand, in 90,110 households, or 70.4 per cent, none of the other household members had a vehicle.

The average number of available cars per household varied between 1.6 in the Northern district and 1.1 in the Southern harbour district.

On average, households owned nearly two televisions, a video-cassette player/recorder, a fridge-freezer, a washing machine, a gas or electric water heater, and a gas or electric cooker each.

In the HBS it was also found that 74,660 persons living in private households, or 19.4 per cent, have a life assurance. Additionally, 69,480 individuals living within the same households, or 18 per cent, own a health insurance.

The NSO offers customers the possibility to request tailor-made reports. Requests for the publication and tailor-made reports are to be submitted to: Library and Information Unit, Corporate Services Division, National Statistics Office, Lascaris Valletta CMR 02, tel. 21239225, fax 21249841, e-mail nso@gov.mt.