The Maltese are among the last in Europe to leave the family home, with young men flying the nest slightly later than women, according to a recent Eurostat study.  

Last year, the average Maltese moved out when just over 30 years old. The average age of Europeans doing the same was 26.

Those in Bulgaria, Spain, Greece and Slovakia also left the family home aged 30, on average slightly later than in Malta. Italians also left at 30, albeit around a month earlier. Croatians were the last to leave, moving out at age 33.  

The study also revealed that while, on average, men across the continent moved out later than women, the difference in Malta was among the least pronounced. 

While Maltese men moved out at age 30, women left when they were 29 - on average less than a full year earlier.   

Luxembourg, Sweden and Denmark also recorded small differences between the sexes, but the largest gap was seen in Romania where women chose independent living more than four years earlier than men.  

“Men left their parental home, on average, after the age of 30 in nine EU countries (Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Slovakia, Spain, Italy, Malta, Slovenia and Portugal), while this is the case for women in only one country: Croatia,” the report said.  

The report also noted that, in the decade between 2012 and 2022, the average age for leaving home rose in more than half of the EU.  

The biggest rises were seen in Croatia, Greece and Spain, which all saw the average age rise by almost two years.  

Meanwhile, young people in Finland moved out the earliest when they were just over 21, followed by those in Sweden, Denmark and Estonia, who, on average, were slightly younger than 23.  

The Eurostat figures paint a similar picture to those released 12 months ago, which had also found that men in Malta moved out at the age of 30 while women moved out earlier, that year at the age of 28.  

At the time, sociologist Albert Bell told Times of Malta that while he thought young people did crave more privacy and freedom, the “economic reality of the island doesn’t really allow for that”.

Higher education options also played a part, he said, with many students on the continent seeking schooling further afield.  

“The geographic size of the island is also a factor. Most students do not need to travel long distances to go to university or a post-secondary college,” he said. 

“Meanwhile, for European youth, seeking housing closer to the campus of their choice is more realistic than staying in the family home.” 

Last year, a Housing Authority report warned that young people were being priced out of the market, with those at lower incomes or those wishing to rent on their own amongst the most affected.  

While a young couple on average earnings in Malta can afford a broad range of rental options, the same is not true for other youths.  

An identical couple on minimum earnings or a single young person with average earnings has “far more limited” options, the report said.