Maltese young people most politically active in Europe

Young Maltese aged 15 to 30 have participated in activities organised by a political party in the past year at a rate of 14%, compared to only 5% of other Europeans.

This means Maltese youth are the most likely European participants in party politics, according to a Eurobarometer survey carried out in April in all the EU Member States.

It also represents a three-point increase in Malta since 2011. The surge in participation can be explained by the fact that the survey was conducted one month after the recent Maltese general election.

In the past year, Maltese young people have been more active than other Europeans in party politics but less active in local and human rights organisations and sports clubs.

While 35% of European youth were active in sports clubs, the Maltese rate is only 25%. The low participation of Maltese contrasts with the Dutch high of 59%. Only the Bulgarians, Romanians, Cypriots and Poles were less active in sports clubs. Maltese young people were as likely as other Europeans to participate in cultural and environmental organisations and in NGOs in general. The survey shows that voting among young people was highest in Malta (76%), followed by Belgium (73%) and Italy (71%). Respondents were asked whether they had voted in a political election in the past three years. In contrast, fewer than two in five respondents had voted in the UK (38%) and Hungary (39%).

In Belgium, where voting in the European elections is normally compulsory, four in five (80%) respondents said they were likely to vote. Malta was among six countries with high proportions of likely voters: the Netherlands (76%), Sweden (76%), Italy (76%), Ireland (76%), Luxembourg (75%) and Malta (75%). The country with the fewest respondents likely to vote was Slovenia, at 47%. When asked to give a reason for voting, Maltese young people were the most likely to state that European elections are important.

Malta had the highest rate of respondents, 96%, who believed that Europe and the European elections are important - a distant 19 percentage points ahead of Cyprus, the lowest at 77%. The rate was also relatively low in Croatia (78%).

The rate of respondents who gave "democracy is important" as their reason to vote was highest in Germany, Malta and Denmark, all at 98%, and Austria, Sweden, Portugal and Ireland, all at 97%. The lowest rate was in Romania, still a strong 85%.