Article: Public Perceptions of Safety: 2025
Author: Education and Community Safety
Published on: 24 March 2026
Introduction
In September 2025, the National Statistics Office carried out an omnibus survey with a representative sample of the resident population aged 18 and over. More information on the survey can be found in the methodological notes section. The results from this survey will be shared through a series of short articles, with each article focusing on a different topic covered in the survey. This article is the first in the series and covers the topic of perceived safety in the local area. The questions focused on how respondents perceive their personal safety in their neighbourhood and at home after dark.
Perceived safety while walking alone in the neighbourhood after dark
Overall, 74 percent of respondents reported feeling safe while walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark (Table 1). Perceived level of safety did vary by sex and age. While 81 per cent of men reported feeling safe, among women, this stood at 65 per cent (Chart 1).
Note: Totals may not add to 100 per cent due to rounding and due to the exclusion of responses categorised as do not know. For more information, please refer to methodological note 5.
Perceived level of safety while walking alone in one’s neighbourhood after dark did not vary considerably among those aged between 18 and 64, ranging from 78 per cent for those 18 to 34 and 75 per cent for those 35 to 64. This was not the case for those aged 65 and over where 63 per cent reported feeling safe (Chart 2).
Note: Totals may not add to 100 per cent due to rounding and due to the exclusion of responses categorised as do not know. For more information, please refer to methodological note 5.
There were only minor geographic variations in level of perceived safety when walking alone in one’s neighbourhood after dark, ranging from 71 per cent in the Northern Harbour district to 76 per cent in the Northern district (Table 1).
Perceived safety while at home after dark
Overall, 94 per cent of respondents reported feeling safe in their home after dark – a 20 per cent point difference when compared to feelings of safety when walking alone in one’s neighbourhood after dark. There were only minor differences by sex and age. For women, 92 per cent reported feeling safe when alone at home after dark, for men this was 95 per cent. By age, feelings of safety decreased slightly as age increased from 96 per cent among those 18 to 34, to 91 per cent among those aged 65 and over. Geographic variations were also small with values ranging from 94 per cent in the Northern Harbour district to 92 per cent in the Western district (Table 2).
When the two measures of perceived safety were cross tabulated, 72 per cent of respondents reported they feel safe both at home and when walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark. On the other hand, 21 per cent of respondents reported that while they feel safe in their home after dark, they do not feel safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark (Table 3).
Methodological Notes
1. Mandate and scope of survey
The National Statistics Office (NSO) launched the Omnibus Survey in September 2025. The survey covered multiple topics not currently included in routine surveys. The information collected also aligns with indicators within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as adopted by the United Nations. Further information can be found here.
2. Coverage and sampling
The target population for this survey consisted of all individuals aged 18 years and over who were residing in private households and had a landline or mobile phone. A total of 491,120 persons were eligible to participate in the survey.
A stratified random sampling technique was used. A total of 36 strata were used for this survey, each corresponding to a unique combination of sex, age group, and district of residence. Quotas were used throughout the data collection phase to ensure that the required number of persons from each sub-group were selected, thereby guaranteeing the designed margin of error. Since the mechanism of selecting individuals was carried out in a random manner, no significant bias was introduced by applying such quotas. The final net sample consisted of a total of 1,017 persons; of which 508 were male and 509 were female.
3. Data collection and quality control
Data was collected by means of Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) between 26th September 2025 and 1st October 2025. During CATI surveys, respondents are contacted by telephone and data collected during the interview is recorded through the means of electronic devices such as tablets or laptops. The questionnaire was made available in both English and Maltese. A series of quality checks and in-built validation rules in the data collection tool were used to limit the occurrence of non-sampling errors. Following data collection, interviewers were randomly selected and subjected to an audit.
4. Weighting of results and treatment of errors
Survey data was weighted to correct for any biases present in the final sample of participating units arising from variations in response rates observed in different sub-groups. The final weighted sample estimates, therefore, represent all persons aged 18 and over, residing in private households in Malta.
Data included in this article are based on sample data and are therefore subject to sampling error. Sampling error is measured by a quantity known as the margin of error, which in turn, expresses the variability between the true population parameters and their corresponding sample estimates. In the table below, the margin of error is used to construct a set of 95 per cent confidence intervals for specific variables, which gives an indication of where the true population parameters lie.
| Category | Estimate | Margin of Error | 95% Confidence Interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feeling safe when walking alone in the neighbourhood after dark (%) | |||
| Males | 81.1 | 3.4 | 81.1 ± 3.4 |
| Females | 64.9 | 4.1 | 64.9 ± 4.1 |
| 18-34 | 77.8 | 4.5 | 77.8 ± 4.5 |
| 35-64 | 75.4 | 4.0 | 75.4 ± 4.0 |
| 65+ | 63.0 | 6.2 | 63.0 ± 6.2 |
| Southern Harbour | 72.6 | 7.4 | 72.6 ± 7.4 |
| Northern Harbour | 71.2 | 5.1 | 71.2 ± 5.1 |
| South Eastern | 74.9 | 7.0 | 74.9 ± 7.0 |
| Western | 74.7 | 7.0 | 74.7 ± 7.0 |
| Northern | 76.2 | 6.8 | 76.2 ± 6.8 |
| Gozo and Comino | 74.9 | 7.5 | 74.9 ± 7.5 |
| Total | 73.5 | 2.8 | 73.5 ± 2.8 |
| Feeling unsafe when walking alone in the neighbourhood after dark (%) | |||
| Males | 17.8 | 3.3 | 17.8 ± 3.3 |
| Females | 33.8 | 4.1 | 33.8 ± 4.1 |
| 18-34 | 22.2 | 4.5 | 22.2 ± 4.5 |
| 35-64 | 23.6 | 3.9 | 23.6 ± 3.9 |
| 65+ | 33.5 | 6.1 | 33.5 ± 6.1 |
| Southern Harbour | 25.0u | 7.2 | 25.0 ± 7.2 |
| Northern Harbour | 28.5 | 5.1 | 28.5 ± 5.1 |
| South Eastern | 22.0u | 6.7 | 22.0 ± 6.7 |
| Western | 24.6u | 6.9 | 24.6 ± 6.9 |
| Northern | 23.8u | 6.8 | 23.8 ± 6.8 |
| Gozo and Comino | 21.4u | 7.1 | 21.4 ± 7.1 |
| Total | 25.2 | 2.8 | 25.2 ± 2.8 |
| Feeling safe when at home after dark (%) | |||
| Male | 95.1 | 1.9 | 95.1 ± 1.9 |
| Female | 92.2 | 2.3 | 92.2 ± 2.3 |
| 18-34 | 95.7 | 2.2 | 95.7 ± 2.2 |
| 35-64 | 93.5 | 2.3 | 93.5 ± 2.3 |
| 65+ | 91.4 | 3.6 | 91.4 ± 3.6 |
| Southern Harbour | 94.0 | 3.9 | 94.0 ± 3.9 |
| Northern Harbour | 94.4 | 2.6 | 94.4 ± 2.6 |
| South Eastern | 94.3 | 3.8 | 94.3 ± 3.8 |
| Western | 92.1 | 4.3 | 92.1 ± 4.3 |
| Northern | 92.9 | 4.1 | 92.9 ± 4.1 |
| Gozo and Comino | 93.5 | 4.2 | 93.5 ± 4.2 |
| Total | 93.7 | 1.5 | 93.7 ± 1.5 |
| Feeling unsafe when at home after dark (%) | |||
| Male | 4.8u | 1.9 | 4.8 ± 1.9 |
| Female | 7.5u | 2.3 | 7.5 ± 2.3 |
| 18-34 | : | : | : |
| 35-64 | 6.3u | 2.2 | 6.3 ± 2.2 |
| 65+ | : | : | : |
| Southern Harbour | : | : | : |
| Northern Harbour | : | : | : |
| South Eastern | : | : | : |
| Western | : | : | : |
| Northern | : | : | : |
| Gozo and Comino | : | : | : |
| Total | 6.0 | 1.5 | 6.0 ± 1.5 |
5. Respondents were asked to rate their perceived level of safety when walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark using a four-point scale of very unsafe, unsafe, safe and very safe. The option don’t know was also available but was excluded from the tables presented due to small counts. For reporting purposes, perceived safety is presented in two combined categories — very unsafe/unsafe and very safe/safe. This approach is used to ensure reliable estimates due to small counts in some of the categories. The category very unsafe/unsafe will be referred to as unsafe while the category very safe/safe is referred to as safe.
6. The questionnaire used can be found here.
7. More information relating to this release may be accessed at:
District Classification
8. References to these releases are to be cited appropriately. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.
9. For further assistance send your request through our online request form.
