Population growth, traffic are Malta's top concerns

SUMMARY

Population growth and traffic emerged as Malta’s two topmost concerns in a MaltaToday survey released today, with both registering higher scores than a year ago.

In October 2026, population growth was identified as the country’s biggest problem with 30.4% of respondents citing it as their main concern. This represents an increase of eight points since October 2025.

The second-highest concern was traffic at 28.6%, which also represented an increase of eight points from just a year ago. Construction, at a distant third, was mentioned by 7.5% of respondents as their main concern. This represented a marginal increase of 0.6 points.

Concern over inflation registered an eight-point decrease since October 2025 and clocked in at 5.7%.

The survey was carried out between 22 September and 2 October 2026 and is based on a representative sample of 835 respondents. At a 95% confidence level, the overall survey results carry a margin of error of ±3.4%.

Overpopulation, traffic and construction at a distant third are Malta’s leading public concerns

Population growth was identified as the country’s biggest problem by 30.4% of respondents in MaltaToday’s concerns survey for October 2026.

The second-highest concern was traffic at 28.6%, followed by construction at 7.5%.

The only other issue mentioned by more than 5% of respondents was inflation (5.7%) closely followed by corruption (4.8%).

Population growth and traffic had already emerged as the dominant concerns in a survey held a year ago. Concern on population growth includes a variety of concerns related to the increase of people living in Malta, including infrastructural pressures and increased population densities. A separate but related concern was the increase in foreign workers, mentioned as the main concern by 2.7%.

But compared with the MaltaToday survey published in October 2025, concern about population growth has risen from 22.3% to 30.4%, while traffic has increased from 20.3% to 28.6%. Construction has edged up from 6.9% to 7.5%. Remarkably, concern on inflation has dropped from 13.4% to 5.7%.

The 1.8-percentage-point gap between the top two issues falls within the survey’s margin of error of ±3.4 percentage points.

PL voters more worried by traffic

Among respondents intending to vote for the Labour Party (PL), traffic was the leading concern at 34.5%, followed by population growth at 30.4%. Construction was cited by 5%, while corruption registered just 0.2%.

Among prospective Nationalist Party (PN) voters, population growth led at 28%, followed by traffic at 23.6% and corruption at 10.5%. Construction was cited by 9.5%.

Among those intending to vote for smaller parties, population growth reached a staggering 34.6%, while 17.4% cited corruption. Traffic was much lower at 10.7%, and concern on construction stood at 12.2%. The survey suggests that concern on corruption is now higher among small party voters than among PN voters.

The October 2025 survey showed a similar broad contrast. A year ago, traffic led among Labour voters, while population growth led among Nationalist voters. Corruption was cited by 14.3% of PN voters and 2.4% of PL voters in that survey. The latest results continue to show corruption as a more prominent concern among prospective PN and smaller-party voters than among prospective PL voters.

Among respondents who said they would abstain in a forthcoming election, population growth was cited by 33.3%, followed by traffic at 29.1% and construction at 7.9%. The cost of living was mentioned by 5.7%, while corruption was cited by only 1.7%.

Younger people more worried by population growth

Population growth was the leading concern among respondents aged 16 to 50, peaking at 36% among those aged 16 to 35 and reaching 33.3% among those aged 36 to 50. Among younger respondents, traffic followed at 29.5%, while concern on property prices (3.7%) was more prominent than older age groups.

But concern on construction is higher among older respondents, increasing from 6.4% among 16- to 35-year-olds and 5.1% among those aged between 36 and 50, to over 9% among those aged over 50.

Among those aged 51 to 65 and over 65, traffic took the lead, at 31.9% and 28.4% respectively. Population growth stood at 29.8% among the 51 to 65 age group and 23% among pensioners.

The results also differ by sex. Population growth led among women, at 31.5%, while traffic was their second concern at 25.6%; construction was cited by 10%. Among men, traffic came first at 31.5%, ahead of population growth at 29.2%, while construction was mentioned by just 5%. Women (7%) were also more likely than men (4.4%) to express concern on the cost of living.

Overall, the figures suggest that population growth resonates particularly strongly with younger respondents and women, while traffic is especially prominent among men and older age groups.

Traffic leads in the West, construction stands out in Gozo

The regional breakdown of results reveals substantial differences. In the West district, traffic was the leading concern at 35.3%, compared with 29.5% for population growth. Traffic also led in the South Harbour at 32.5%, followed by population growth at 30%. In the South East, population growth remained narrowly ahead of traffic, at 31.7% and 29.1% respectively.

In the North district, population growth was the dominant concern at 34%, compared with 23% for traffic. The North Harbour recorded a smaller gap, with population growth at 28.4% and traffic at 26%.

Gozo presented a distinct pattern. Population growth led at 28.7%, followed by traffic at 26.1%, but construction reached 16.4%, more than twice the national figure of 7.5%. The cost of living was also prominent in Gozo, at 10.4%, compared with 5.7% nationally. Construction was cited by just 3.5% in the South Harbour and 4.9% in the West district.

Corruption also varied geographically, cited by 8.7% in the North district and 6.7% in the North Harbour region, compared with just 2.4% in the South Harbour and 3.5% in the South East. The findings point to different local priorities, with traffic particularly prominent in the west and south of Malta and construction and living costs standing out in Gozo.

Property prices, governance feature among particular groups

Property prices were cited by just 1.7% of respondents nationally, but the issue was more prominent among younger people. Of those aged 16 to 35, 3.7% identified property prices as the country’s biggest problem. Regionally, the figure reached 3.9% in the North region, compared with 1.6% in the North Harbour and 0.8% in the South East. Governance and institutions were cited by 2.1% nationally as a concern, rising to 5% among small party voters, 4.2% among respondents over 65, 3.5% in Gozo and 4.1% in the South East.