- There were 58,386 active business units in Malta.
- Active businesses in the Wholesale and retail trade; Professional, scientific and technical activities and Construction covered 41.0 per cent of total active business units.
- 69.1 per cent of active business units were sole proprietors and partnerships while 28.6 per cent were limited liability companies and plc.
- Provisional figures indicate that there were 20,033 employers in Malta in 2022.
Provisional figures for 2022 show that there were 58,386 active business units in Malta, an increase of 2.2 per cent, or 1,253 active business units, over 2021.
The Wholesale, retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles sector (NACE G) accounted for 17.7 per cent of the active business units; Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE M) accounted for 13.6 per cent, whilst Construction (NACE F) accounted for 9.8 per cent (Table 1).
Compared to the situation a year earlier, micro business units employing between 0 and 9 persons increased by 2.0 per cent, while small business units employing between 10 and 49 persons, increased by 5.0 per cent. Medium-sized business units employing between 50 and 249 persons increased by 4.9 per cent. Business units employing more than 250 persons increased by 11.5 per cent (Chart 1, Table 1).
Chart 1. Active business units split by employment size class
In 2022, 69.1 per cent of the active business units were sole proprietors and partnerships, 28.6 per cent were limited liability companies or public limited liability companies, while 2.3 per cent were non-profit organisations, cooperatives, corporations, branches or joint ventures (Chart 2, Table 2).
Provisional figures indicate that there were 20,033 employers in Malta in 2022, an increase of 5.5 per cent, over the previous year (Tables 3 and Table 4). In 2022, 56.0 per cent of the employers were limited liability companies or public limited liability companies, while 41.0 per cent were sole proprietors and partnerships (Chart 3).
Chart 2. Active business units by type of legal organisation
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Chart 3. Employers by type of legal organisation
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Additional Tables and Charts
Methodological Notes
1. The business demography data is based on the concept of active business units in a reference year. These are defined as businesses that had either turnover or employment at any time during the reference period. The statistical business register is the source of the data provided in this news release. New business registrations are identified through Value-added tax (VAT) registrations as well as through Malta Business Registry (MBR) new companies registrations.
2. The data is classified by economic activity according to the NACE (Nomenclature Statistique des Activités Économiques dans la Communauté Européenne) Rev.2 classification of economic activities in the European Union.
3. Other types of legal structures may include public corporations, cooperatives, joint ventures and branches. Public corporations are all the government-controlled units that are often established by government as market producers principally engaged in the production of goods, non-financial and financial services, and as such they are classified in non-financial and financial sectors.
4. For the purpose of this release, the term “active business unit” is used to represent an active sole legal unit. A business unit carries out one or more activities at one or more locations.
5. Updates in the statistical business register are ongoing and all figures reported are subject to revision. Data for 2022 is to be considered as provisional.
6. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:
7. References to this news release are to be cited appropriately.
8. A detailed news release calendar is available online.
Definitions
The number of persons employed is defined, as the total number of persons who work in the observation unit (inclusive of working proprietors, partners working regularly in the unit and unpaid family workers), as well as persons who work outside the unit who belong to it and are paid by it (e.g. sales representatives, delivery personnel, repair and maintenance teams). It excludes manpower supplied to the unit by other enterprises and persons carrying out repair and maintenance work in the enquiry unit on behalf of other enterprises.
A worker is considered to be an employee of a particular unit if he or she receives a wage or salary from the unit regardless of where the work is performed (even from remote locations). A worker from a temporary employment agency is considered to be the agency’s employee and not that of the business unit to which he or she is assigned.
Part-time workers, seasonal workers, persons on strike or on short-term leave are all considered employees, while volunteers or workers on long-term leave are excluded.
Employers refer to businesses with at least one employee.
The following are the definitions of the employment size class breakdowns shown in Table 1 and Table 3:
| Size class | Persons employed | |
|---|---|---|
| Micro | 0-9 | |
| Small | 10-49 | |
| Medium | 50-249 | |
| Large | 250+ |
The following are the definitions of the legal forms:
Sole ownership is defined as enterprises owned exclusively by one natural person.
Partnership is defined as an association of persons who conduct a business under a collective name.
Limited liability companies refer to enterprises comprising joint-stock companies, private limited companies.
Non-profit organisations are legal or social entities acting for the purpose of producing goods and services whose status does not permit them to be a source of income, profit or other financial gains for the units that establish, control or finance them.
Public corporations are all the government-controlled units that are often established by government as market producers principally engaged in the production of goods, non-financial and financial services, and as such they are classified in non-financial and financial sectors.
Cooperatives are bodies set down by law that observe a number of general principles; for example profits are often distributed in proportion to members’ dealings with the society.
