One in 20 children living in state of severe material deprivation

One in twenty children in Malta were living in a state of material deprivation, making them the age group most affected by this issue, statistics for 2017 show.

The findings, published by the National Statistics Office, were derived from the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions Survey, compiled based on the capacity or otherwise of households to afford nine ‘deprivation items’, such as a car and their mortgage or rent payments.

The statistics indicate a material deprivation rate of 8% in 2017, with the severe material deprivation rate standing at 3.3%, signalling a drop of 2.3% and 1.1% respectively when compared to 2016.

Households are classified as materially deprived if they can’t afford at least three of the nine items, and severely materially deprived if they are unable to afford four.

Persons under 18 years old – classified as children – are the group most affected by material deprivation, the findings show, with an estimated one in ten children in 2017 living in conditions of material deprivation, and one in 20 in a state of severe material deprivation.

Just over a third of the population surveyed, 34%, said a one-week annual holiday away from home was financially out of reach for their household, while almost 16% would not be able to settle unexpected financial expenses of €650 or over.

(Source: NSO)

One in five said their mortgage, rent, utility bills, higher-purchase instalments or loan payments had been in arrears.

In contrast, the percentage of persons who said they couldn’t afford a washing machine, colour TV or fixed/mobile phone was negligible

Less than five percent can’t afford very basic needs

The survey also collected supplementary statistics on material deprivation and social exclusion from persons living in households aged 16 or over. These show that less than five percent of the surveyed population said they couldn’t afford very basic needs, including replacing worn-out clothes with new ones, or owning two pairs of properly-fitting shoes.

Indicators based on social life quality showed, however, that 7.2% could not afford to go out for drink or meal at least once a month, while 13.3% were unable to regularly participate in a leisure activity, such as attending a concert.

Under 2% of respondents didn’t have an internet connection at their home, while around 11% weren’t able to spend small amounts of money each week for their own use.

Females more disadvantaged

When it came to very basic needs affordability, females were more disadvantaged than males in all instances, the statistics show.

While almost 68% of men could regularly attend leisure activities, only 64% of women said they could do the same.

More than 85% of males could go out to eat or for a drink at least monthly, but less than 82% of females were able to afford this.

(Source: NSO)

Less households exposed to pollution, noisy neighbours

Forty percent of households in 2017 reported exposure to pollution, grime or other environmental problems, noise from neighbours or crime, violence or vandalism in their area. This is slightly less than the 44% who reported the same issues the previous year.

The greatest percentage of households to report exposure to pollution, grime or other environmental issues were in the Northern Harbour area of Malta, with the Northern area and Gozo and Comino having the least reports.

Government hails findings

Noting the decrease to 3.3% in the rate of persons suffering from severe material deprivation in 2017, the government said that the number of people in such a situation was at its lowest since statistics started being collected.

“Between 2007 and 2012, under a Nationalist administration, the rate of people in circumstances of severe poverty doubled from 4.4% to 9.2%… going up from 17,000 in 2007 to 37,000 in 2012,” the government said in a press release, highlighting that for the first time the number of people in a situation of severe material deprivation went down to 14,000.

More than 3,900 households completed the survey, resulting in a household response rate of 87%.