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EU-SILC 2023: Salient Indicators

NR106/2024

Release Date: 12 June 2024

The at-risk-of-poverty threshold (ARPT) derived from EU-SILC 2023 was of €11,363.99.
In 2023, the number of at-risk-of-poverty persons living in private households was estimated at 16.6 per cent of the target population, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points when compared with 2022.
From EU-SILC 2023, the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate (AROPE) stood at 19.8 per cent, thus registering a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from 2022.

EU-SILC 2023: Salient Indicators

NR106/2024

Release Date: 12 June 2024

The survey shows that the number of persons living in households with a national equivalised income below the at-risk-of-poverty line (€11,364) was 88,462. This translates into an at-risk-of-poverty (ARP) rate of 16.6 per cent, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points when compared to the previous year.

Introduction

The European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey is an annual enquiry conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) among persons residing in private households in Malta and Gozo. Income statistics refer to calendar year 2022, while non-income components (such as material deprivation) refer to 2023, which is the data collection year.

The average gross household income for 2022 as derived from EU-SILC 2023, was estimated at €46,976, while the average disposable household income was estimated at €37,275 (Table 4).

In 2023, the severe material and social deprivation rate (SMSD) among persons living in households was 4.1 per cent. This figure was 0.8 percentage points lower than that estimated by EU-SILC 2022. The most influential variables were inability of the household to pay for one week’s annual holiday away from home (30.0 per cent), and inability of the household to face unexpected financial expenses (15.9 per cent) (Table 9).

At-Risk-of-Poverty or Social Exclusion indicator

The AROPE rate defines the proportion/number of people who are either at-risk-of-poverty, or severely materially and socially deprived, or living in households with very low work intensity (applicable only for persons aged 0-64). In EU-SILC 2023, the AROPE rate was estimated at 19.8 per cent, registering a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from 2022. A decrease of 1.9 percentage points can be noted across the 65 and over age group. Thus, the AROPE rate for this cohort stands at 31.4 per cent. On the other hand, an increase can be noted among persons under 18 years, with 2.1 percentage points, thus reaching a rate of 25.2 per cent for this cohort. For the 18-64 age group, the AROPE rate remained unchanged at 15.5 per cent (Table 1).

Table 1. At-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rates (AROPE) by age group and sex

Age group	Sex	2022	2023¹
Age group	Sex	%	%	Number of persons below the threshold
All ages	Males	18.9	18.7	52,399
	Females	21.3	21.1	53,067
	Total	20.1	19.8	105,466
Under 18	Total	23.1	25.2	20,807
18-64	Males	14.9	14.8	28,519
	Females	16.3	16.3	26,567
	Total	15.5	15.5	55,087
65 and over	Males	29.8	29.7	13,321
	Females	36.5	33.0	16,252
	Total	33.3	31.4	29,572

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¹Break-in-series: refer to methodological note 7.

The at-risk-of-poverty rate (ARP) among persons below 18 years of age was calculated at 22.0 per cent, increasing by 2.7 percentage points from the previous year. A decrease of 0.2 percentage points was observed for persons aged 18-64, bringing the ARP rate for this age cohort down to 12.1 per cent in 2023. The rate for those aged 65 or more went down to 29.0 per cent, equivalent to a decrease of 1.0 percentage points over EU-SILC 2022 (Table 2).

Table 2. At-risk-of-poverty rates by age group and sex

Age group	Sex	2022	2023¹
Age group	Sex	%	%	Number of persons below the threshold
All ages	Males	15.8	15.7	44,075
	Females	17.8	17.6	44,387
	Total	16.7	16.6	88,462
Under 18	Total	19.3	22.0	18,173
18-64	Males	12.2	11.8	22,730
	Females	12.5	12.5	20,282
	Total	12.3	12.1	43,012
65 and over	Males	26.8	27.7	12,405
	Females	32.8	30.2	14,872
	Total	30.0	29.0	27,277

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¹Break-in-series: refer to methodological note 7.

Household Income

For income reference year 2022, the average gross household income was estimated at €46,976. On the other hand, the estimate for the average disposable household income was €37,275. Disposable income is defined as the amount of money available to households for spending purposes, after deducting taxes, social contributions, and alimonies (Table 4).

Employment income made up 85.1 per cent of the total gross household income for 2022. The share of social benefits (including old-age benefits) for 2022 stood at 12.5 per cent (Chart 1).

Chart 1. Household gross income distribution

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National Equivalised Income (NEI) Distributions

The NEI of a household is defined as the household’s total disposable income divided by its ‘equivalent size’ (also referred to as consumption units). The NEI takes into account the size and age distribution of household members. The Gini coefficient is one of the measures of income inequality that varies between 0 and 100 per cent. A Gini coefficient of 0 per cent indicates a perfectly equal distribution of income. On the other hand, a Gini coefficient of 100 per cent indicates that there is full inequality of income.

The S80/S20 ratio, which compares the average NEI of the highest and lowest 20 per cent income earners, was calculated at 5.4 (Table 4).

The Gini coefficient for Malta, as derived from EU-SILC 2023, increased by 1.9 percentage points to 33.0 per cent, when compared to the previous year (Table 4).

Monetary poverty (ARP)

The at-risk-of-poverty threshold (ARPT) is defined as 60 per cent of the median NEI. EU-SILC respondents whose NEI falls below this threshold are considered to be at-risk-of-poverty (ARP).

The ARPT derived from EU-SILC 2023 was estimated at €11,364, 4.3 per cent higher when compared to the previous year (Table 4).

Based on the income year 2022, the number of at-risk-of-poverty persons living in Malta was estimated at 88,462 or 16.6 per cent of the target population (Table 4).

Chart 2 provides a comparison between the growth indices of the ARPT, the ARP rate (Table 2) and the AROPE rate (Table 1).

Chart 2. Comparison of the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, the at-risk-of-poverty rate and the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate in index form

(EU-SILC 2015 = 100)

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Note: Break-in-series: refer to methodological note 7.

When all social transfers, including pensions, are excluded, the at-risk-of-poverty rate (ARP) for 2023 increases by 17.0 percentage points, or 90,190 persons (Table 5). This illustrates the importance of social welfare in assisting the most vulnerable persons in society.

The ARP rate for households with and without dependent children were calculated at 17.9 and 15.7 per cent respectively (Table 6). Members of single parent households were noted to be more susceptible to being at-risk-of-poverty, with 41.6 per cent of these having an equivalised disposable income below the ARPT. Members of one person households with an age of 65 years or more, and members of households with two adults and no dependent children with at least one adult aged 65 years or more, were also more prone to being at-risk-of-poverty (Table 6).

The ARP rate among persons living in households with at least one member aged 0-64 years, decreased as the household work intensity increased (refer to methodological note 4). Indeed, 73.5 per cent of persons living in households with very low work intensity were found to be at-risk-of-poverty in EU-SILC 2023 (Table 7).

An increase was recorded in the at-risk-of-poverty rates for the unemployed, retired, and employed persons for the reference year (refer to methodological note 4) when compared to the previous EU-SILC. On the other hand, there was a decrease in the at risk-of-poverty rate for the other inactive persons (Table 8).

At district level, the distribution of persons under the ARP threshold was uneven across the Maltese Islands, with the Gozo and Comino district having the largest share of ARP persons followed by the Northern district. On the other hand, the South Eastern district registered the lowest ARP rate (Map 1).

Map 1. Distribution of the at-risk-of-poverty (ARP) rate by district: 2023

Material and Social Deprivation Indicators

The Material and Social Deprivation indicators are based on 13 items, of which seven deprivation items relate to the person’s household and six deprivation items relate to the persons themselves. The list of components was adopted by the EU Member States in 2017 (refer to methodological note 5). From this set of variables two major indicators are obtained, namely the Material and Social Deprivation (MSD) indicator and the Severe Material and Social Deprivation (SMSD) indicator.

When compared to 2022, the highest increases in 2023 were recorded in the respondents who said that their household was unable to afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish, or vegetarian equivalent every second day, and respondents whose household found it difficult to face unexpected financial expenses (Chart 3a and Chart 3b).

Chart 3a. Household Material and Social Deprivation rates among respondents

Chart 3b. Personal Material and Social Deprivation rates among respondents

Note: Break-in-series: refer to methodological note 7.

The MSD indicator for EU-SILC 2023 stood at 9.2 per cent, 0.4 percentage points lower than the previous year. Moreover, the SMSD indicator for EU-SILC 2023 decreased by 0.8 percentage points, standing at 4.1 per cent (Table 9) (refer to methodological note 5).

Chart 4. Comparison between the Material and Social Deprivation (MSD) and Severe Material and Social Deprivation (SMSD) rates over the past 5 years

Note: Break-in-series: refer to methodological note 7.

Persons are considered to be at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) if residing in a household that falls under one of the following three conditions: at-risk-of-poverty (ARP); Severe Materially and Socially Deprived (SMSD); or has Low Work Intensity (LWI). The greatest contributing factor of at risk-of-poverty or social exclusion in 2023 was from persons who are at-risk-of-poverty with 16.6 per cent (Chart 5).

Chart 5. The at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion indicator and its components

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Note: Break-in-series: refer to methodological note 7.

The Gozo and Comino district registered the highest rate of AROPE persons, at 26.4 per cent. The lowest AROPE rate was recorded in the South Eastern district, at 15.2 per cent (Map 2).

Map 2. Distribution of the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) rate by district: 2023

Well-Being Characteristics

On a scale from zero to 10, where zero represents not satisfied at all, and 10 represents completely satisfied, respondents at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion reported lower average scores with regard to their satisfaction with overall life, financial situation, current job, and personal relationships, when compared to those not at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion.

Average scores for overall satisfaction in relation to at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion were slightly higher in 2023, when compared to 2022. Particularly, in 2023 respondents at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion reported a mean score of 7.0 for satisfaction with their overall life, an increase of 0.2 points from 2022, a mean score of 6.2 for satisfaction with their financial situation, an increase of 0.4 points from 2022, a mean score of 7.4 for satisfaction with their current job, an increase of 0.1 points from 2022, and a mean score of 8.5 for satisfaction with personal relationships, an increase of 0.3 points from 2022 (Table 10).

Tables

Table 3. Gross and disposable household income by source

Table 4. Main household income and at-risk-of-poverty indicators

Table 5. Difference in the at-risk-of-poverty rate by type of disposable income

Table 6. At-risk-of-poverty rates by household type

Table 7. At-risk-of-poverty rates by work intensity of household (population aged 0 to 64)

Table 8. At-risk-of-poverty rates among persons aged 18 and over by most frequent activity status and sex

Table 9. Percentage rates and number of persons living in households by perceived capacity to afford various items

Table 10. Mean values for perceived level of satisfaction regarding certain well-being characteristics, by sex, age, at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion, and equivalised income

All Tables

Methodological Notes

1. Background

The main scope of this survey is to enable the compilation of statistics on income distribution, relative poverty, material deprivation and social exclusion. This survey has been carried out in Malta since 2005, under European Regulation (EU) No. 1177/2003. This Regulation establishes criteria which ensure the production of high quality and harmonised results at European level. As from 2020, EU-SILC started to be carried out under a new regulation: Regulation (EU) No. 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 October 2019 establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to persons and households, based on data at individual level collected from samples.

The survey is designed to collect detailed information on household characteristics, labour market, education, household income, material deprivation and social exclusion. The households’ wealth (assets) and gains/losses from capital transfers are not covered by this survey.

2. Sample size and response

The EU-SILC sample follows a rotational design whereby every household is surveyed for four consecutive years. This sampling methodology enhances consistency and thus allows for high quality cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis.

In 2023 the gross sample size was 5,077 households. Of these, 96 households were ineligible for the survey (i.e. addresses that did not actually exist, could not be located, non-residential addresses, permanently vacant dwellings or institutional households). Consequently, 4,981 households were approached for the interview. Of these, 4,515 completed the survey, resulting in a household response rate of 91 per cent. These households comprised 10,993 residents, of whom 9,565 were aged 16 and over.

The population figure used to gross up and to calibrate EU-SILC data refers to one calendar year prior to the survey year. Consequently, the population in EU-SILC 2023 refers to the number of persons living in private households as at end of 2022 which was estimated at 532,186.

3. Income reference period

The income reference year of the EU-SILC survey is one calendar year prior to the survey year. Therefore, the income collected in EU-SILC 2023 refers to calendar year 2022.

The major income components are sourced from administrative data.

4. Concepts and definitions

A person is defined as a dependent child if s/he is:

● under 18, or;

● 18-24 years old and is economically inactive and living with at least one parent.

Otherwise, the person is referred to as an adult.

The Work Intensity (WI) of a household is the ratio of the total number of months that all household members have worked during the income reference year and the total number of months the same household members theoretically could have worked in the same period. In line with EU Regulation No. 2019/1700 on person and household surveys, the WI indicator was modified to cover persons aged between 18 and 64 instead of persons aged between 18 and 59. Students aged between 18 and 24 are excluded from the calculation of this indicator. Moreover, households composed only of children aged less than 18, students aged less than 25 and/or people aged 65 or more are completely excluded from the computation of this indicator.

The most frequent activity status is defined as the status that individuals aged 18 and over declare to have occupied for more than six months in the calendar year. The most frequent activity status groups are; employment, unemployment, retirement and other inactivity.

The gross household income includes:

● Gross employee cash or near cash income;

● Gross non-cash employee income (only company car and associated costs included);

● Gross cash benefits or losses from self-employment (including royalties);

● Unemployment benefits;

● Old-age benefits;

● Survivors’ benefits;

● Sickness benefits;

● Disability benefits;

● Education-related allowances;

● Income from rental of property or land;

● Family/Children related allowances;

● Social exclusion benefits not elsewhere classified;

● Housing allowances;

● Regular inter-household cash transfers received;

● Interests, dividends, profits from capital investments in unincorporated business;

● Income received by people aged under 16; and,

● Income received from individual private pension plans.

The total disposable income of a household is calculated by deducting:

● regular inter-household cash transfers paid;

● tax on income; and,

● social insurance contributions.

from the total gross household income.

Equivalent household size is calculated according to the “modified OECD” equivalence scale which gives:

● a weight of 1.0 to the first adult;

● a weight of 0.5 to any other household member aged 14+;

● a weight of 0.3 to each child.

The resulting figure, which is the sum of these weights, is attributed to each member of the household.

Equivalised disposable income (referred to also as national equivalised income) is defined as the household’s total disposable income divided by its “equivalent household size”, to take account of the size and composition of the household, and is attributed to each household member. For example, a household with two adults and two children aged less than 14, would have an equivalised household size of (1+0.5+0.3+0.3) = 2.1. If the total disposable income earned by the household is €20,000, then the household equivalised income would result in (€20,000/2.1) = €9,523.

The at-risk-of-poverty threshold is also referred to as the at-risk-of-poverty line or, simply, the poverty line. This is equivalent to 60 per cent of the median national equivalised income of persons living in private households.

The S80/S20 ratio is the ratio between the sums of the highest and lowest 20 per cent equivalised incomes of persons within the households.

The Gini coefficient measures the inequality of income distribution. It may take values ranging from 0 per cent, which implies perfect equality in the income distribution, to 100 per cent, which signifies absolute inequality.

5. Material and social Deprivation:

In 2017, a set of new Material and Social Deprivation (MSD) indicators were adopted by all the European Union (EU) Member States. The new indicators are the Material and Social deprivation (MSD) indicator and the Severe Material and Social Deprivation (SMSD) indicator. These indicators are based on 13 items: 7 household items and 6 personal items.

Household items:

● face unexpected expenses;

● afford one week annual holiday away from home;

● avoid arrears (in mortgage, rent, utility bills and/or hire purchase instalments);

● afford a meal with meat, chicken or fish or vegetarian equivalent every second day;

● afford keeping their home appropriately warm;

● have access to a car/van for personal use;

● replace worn-out furniture.

Personal items:

● replace worn-out clothes with some new ones;

● have two pairs of properly fitting shoes;

● spend a small amount of money each week on him/herself (“pocket money”);

● have regular leisure activities;

● get together with friends/family for a drink/meal at least once a month;

● have an internet connection.

Persons lacking at least five items out of the 13 material and social deprivation items are considered to be materially and socially deprived.

Persons lacking at least seven items out of the 13 material and social deprivation items are considered to be severely materially and socially deprived.

6. The at-risk-of-poverty rate refers to the share of persons with an equivalised disposable income below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold.

7. Following the 2021 Population and Housing Census, NSO introduced a new sampling frame of households and individuals which was used for the first time EU-SILC as from 2023. In addition, EU-SILC was benchmarked with updated demographic estimates derived from this census. NSO ran several tests which revealed little impact of statistical significance on the core EU-SILC indicators. Consequently, it was concluded that revisions on past time series data were not necessary. NSO still feels appropriate flagging these methodological changes, primarily because they may influence the interpretation of changes in household and individual counts in EU-SILC 2023, when compared to previous years.

8. Sampling variability of main SILC 2023 indicators

		Estimate	margin of error at 95% confidence interval	95% confidence interval
	At-risk-of-poverty	88,462	10,644	88,462 ± 10,644
At-risk-of-poverty rate (%)	Total	16.6	2.0	16.6 ± 2.0
	Males	15.7	2.3	15.7 ± 2.3
	Females	17.6	2.3	17.6 ± 2.3
	0-17	22.0	5.4	22.0 ± 5.4
	18-64	12.1	2.0	12.1 ± 2.0
	65+	29.0	3.6	29.0 ± 3.6
	Material and social deprivation	48,969	7,983	48,969 ± 7,983
Material and social deprivation rate (%)	Total	9.2	1.5	9.2 ± 1.5
	Males	8.6	1.6	8.6 ± 1.6
	Females	9.9	1.8	9.9 ± 1.8
	0-17	11.5	3.5	11.5 ± 3.5
	18-64	8.3	1.6	8.3 ± 1.6
	65+	10.5	2.4	10.5 ± 2.4
	Severe material and social deprivation	21,853	4,257	21,853 ± 4,257
Severe material and social deprivation rate (%)	Total	4.1	0.8	4.1 ± 0.8
	Males	3.7	0.8	3.7 ± 0.8
	Females	4.6	1.1	4.6 ± 1.1
	0-17	5.6	2.1	5.6 ± 2.1
	18-64	3.7	0.8	3.7 ± 0.8
	65+	4.5	1.3	4.5 ± 1.3
	Low work intensity	15,128	3,787	15,128 ± 3,787
Low work intensity rate (%)	Total	3.6	0.9	3.6 ± 0.9
	Males	3.1	0.9	3.1 ± 0.9
	Females	4.1	1.2	4.1 ± 1.2
	0-17	4.0	1.9	4.0 ± 1.9
	18-64	3.5	0.9	3.5 ± 0.9
	At-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion	105,466	11,176	105,466 ± 11,176
At-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate (%)	Total	19.8	2.1	19.8 ± 2.1
	Males	18.7	2.3	18.7 ± 2.3
	Females	21.1	2.4	21.1 ± 2.4
	0-17	25.2	5.5	25.2 ± 5.5
	18-64	15.5	2.1	15.5 ± 2.1
	65+	31.4	3.6	31.4 ± 3.6
	At-risk-of-poverty by household type	88,462	10,644	88,462 ± 10,644
At-risk-of-poverty rate (%)	Household without dependent children	15.7	2.0	15.7 ± 2.0
	One person household, under 65 years	23.7	5.9	23.7 ± 5.9
	One person household, 65 years and over	40.4	5.7	40.4 ± 5.7
	2 adults, no dependent children, both under 65 years	7.2	3.4	7.2 ± 3.4
	2 adults, no dependent children, at least one adult 65 years or more	33.2	5.5	33.2 ± 5.5
	Other households without dependent children	4.8	3.2	4.8 ± 3.2
	Household with dependent children	17.9	4.1	17.9 ± 4.1
	Single parent household, one or more dependent children	41.6	12.5	41.6 ± 12.5
	2 adults, one dependent child	13.4	6.3	13.4 ± 6.3
	2 adults, two dependent children	17.6	8.3	17.6 ± 8.3
	2 adults, three or more dependent children	31.0	16.6	31.0 ± 16.6
	Other households with one or more dependent children	6.2	5.3	6.2 ± 5.3
	At-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion by household type	105,466	11,176	105,466 ± 11,176
At-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate (%)	Household without dependent children	18.7	2.1	18.7 ± 2.1
	One person household, under 65 years	28.1	5.7	28.1 ± 5.7
	One person household, 65 years and over	42.7	5.8	42.7 ± 5.8
	2 adults, no dependent children, both under 65 years	10.3	3.9	10.3 ± 3.9
	2 adults, no dependent children, at least one adult 65 years or more	35.7	5.5	35.7 ± 5.5
	Other households without dependent children	7.5	3.4	7.5 ± 3.4
	Household with dependent children	21.4	4.3	21.4 ± 4.3
	Single parent household, one or more dependent children	48.3	12.6	48.3 ± 12.6
	2 adults, one dependent child	17.7	7.1	17.7 ± 7.1
	2 adults, two dependent children	19.0	8.4	19.0 ± 8.4
	2 adults, three or more dependent children	32.1	16.9	32.1 ± 16.9
	Other households with one or more dependent children	11.7	6.4	11.7 ± 6.4

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9. Key

: Data not published due to unreliable survey estimates as a result of:
1. less than 20 reporting households; or
2. the non-response for the item concerned exceeds 50 per cent.

[ ] Figures to be used with caution: figures based on between 20 and 49 reporting household or figures with item non-response ranging between 20 per cent and 50 per cent.

N/A Not applicable

10. Other notes:

● Sample used for the EU-SILC survey was extracted from a database based on the Census of Population and Housing 2011.

● Tables may not exactly add up due to rounding.

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EU-SILC 2023: Salient Indicators

EU-SILC 2023: Salient Indicators

EU-SILC 2023: Salient Indicators

Table 1. At-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rates (AROPE) by age group and sex

Table 2. At-risk-of-poverty rates by age group and sex

Chart 1. Household gross income distribution

Chart 2. Comparison of the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, the at-risk-of-poverty rate and the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate in index form

Map 1. Distribution of the at-risk-of-poverty (ARP) rate by district: 2023

Chart 4. Comparison between the Material and Social Deprivation (MSD) and Severe Material and Social Deprivation (SMSD) rates over the past 5 years

Chart 5. The at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion indicator and its components

Map 2. Distribution of the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) rate by district: 2023

Tables

Tables

Methodological Notes