The traffic situation and the cost of living top the people's concerns, according to a Misco survey carried out to gauge the level of public concern on a range of issues.

The research agency said 87% of respondents put traffic as their top concern. 83% were concerned about the cost of living, 80% about construction, 72% about the general state of the environment and 71% about corruption.

The survey was conducted between May 18 and 20.

Traffic and prices top the people's concerns, a Misco survey has shown.

It also found that  43% of respondents were very concerned or fairly concerned about the health sector in Malta and 45% were concerned about the education sector in Malta.

“A deeper analysis of the data according to gender showed us that concern about the health sector and traffic is fairly similar between men and women but on the other hand, the level of concern among females about education, construction, the environment, cost of living, corruption is higher than the level expressed by males,” Lawrence Zammit, founder and director of misco said.

“Additionally, if we had to look at the data in terms of age, persons aged under 35 years expressed a higher level of concern about construction, the environment, cost of living, corruption, and education than older persons. With regard to health and education, the level of concern expressed was similar to that by older respondents.”

Traffic is the biggest concern for both men and women.

This survey was conducted among a random sample of 401 respondents. Interviews were conducted using computer-aided telephone interviewing. Respondents were randomly selected using a random digit dialling methodology.

Data was weighted according to age, gender, and region. Weighting was used to adjust the results of a study to bring them more in line with what is known about a population. A sample of 401 respondents provides a margin of error within +/- 5%.