Just over 85,300 people living in private households were at-risk-of-poverty in 2020, an increase of 2,600 over the previous year, according to statistics released by the National Statistics Office.

This translates into at-risk-of-poverty rates of 17.2 and 12.9% for the regions of Malta and Gozo and Comino respectively.

The statistics on income and living conditions survey showed that when compared to 2019, increases in the number of people at-risk-of-poverty in 2020 were registered in the southern harbour, northern and western districts at 40.7, 17.9 and 10.2% respectively.

The statistics showed that the average household disposable income stood at €31,352 in Malta, an increase of 9.3% over the previous year. In Gozo and Comino, the average household disposable income stood at €30,070, an increase of 15.5% over 2019.

Gender pay gap

Men were paid, on average, more than €2,700 a year more than women. The annual average gross salary for men was €20,188 compared to €17,453 for women.

The gender divide was not as stark in Gozo, where men were paid €17,743 and women, €17,462.

The average household disposable income was highest in the western district at €38,365 and lowest in the northern harbour district.

In 2020, the most common household size for people living in Malta and Gozo was the two-person. The total number of persons residing in private households in Malta during 2020 was 505,014, of which 470,997 lived in Malta and 34,017 in Gozo and Comino.

In comparison to 2015, an increase of 17.2% was observed in Malta, while Gozo and Comino registered an increase of 14%.

The statistics show that 27,035 students were enrolled in primary education in the 2019/2020 scholastic year. State schools remained the most popular receiving 57.7% of the total student body in primary level. 21,430 students were enrolled in secondary education, with most students attending institutions in the same district of residence.

A total 4,760 adolescents were enrolled in post-secondary general education, while 21,914 students attended full-time or part-time courses at tertiary level.

In terms of employment, 217,036 residents of Malta worked on a full-time basis, an increase of 1.4% when compared to 2019. 79.3% worked in the private sector.

Another 15,864 Gozo and Comino residents had a full-time job, an increase of 3.1% when compared to 2019. 63.4% of them worked in the private sector.