NSO Malta | Taking Part in a Survey

Taking part in a Survey?

The NSO is empowered by the Malta Statistics Authority Act – Chapter 422 of the laws of Malta, to collect data for official statistics. As a result, selected individuals, households and entities have a legal obligation to respond and provide the information requested by the NSO. This creates a legal obligation and therefore is covered by article 6 of the General Data Protection Regulations.

NSO is obliged to ensure that all its processes, including data collection, respect the confidentiality of the individual, household and/or entity and all data published cannot divulge the identity directly or indirectly unless prior consent is obtained from the individual, household and/or entity. Data is handled on a need to know basis even within the Office and access is given to the persons working on datasets only.

All officers of statistics working at NSO undertake the oath of secrecy as prescribed by the MSA Act. The oath places added legal responsibility on the officers of statistics to make appropriate use of the data being handled.

How can I be sure that the person on the phone is actually an NSO representative?

It is NSO’s policy that prior to making contact, with sampled individuals and households, a survey notification letter is sent with essential information on the ongoing survey and data collection process.

In the case of Face-to-Face surveys, our interviewers will be calling you beforehand in order to set up a mutually convenient appointment during which to conduct the survey. In most cases, Face-to-Face interviews will be conducted at your residence or other mutually convenient place that is safe and suited for data collection (e.g. the NSO Office or your workplace).

All our interviewers are provided with an official interviewer NSO identification tag, which is to be presented prior to conducting Face-to-Face interviews.

The NSO would like to thank all those who have, one time or another, participated in its surveys as through their cooperation it was able to produce and disseminate high quality statistics for Malta.

Household Surveys

» EU SILC

The European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions Survey (EU-SILC) is a harmonised statistical enquiry aimed at collecting comparable data on income, health and disability, employment, and material deprivation. In this context, indicators derived from EU-SILC aim to identify the population categories that are most prone to poverty and material deprivation. This survey is carried out under European Framework Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003.

» Find out more on EU SILC.

» LFS

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is an ongoing survey conducted among private households for the purpose of gathering information about the labour force under European Framework Regulation (EC) No. 577/1998. Its main objective is that of dividing the 15+ year old population into three mutually exclusive groups: employed, unemployed, and inactive, and hence provides descriptive information on each of these groups.

» Find out more on LFS.

» National Tourism (CATI)

The collection consists of tourism data on domestic and outbound trips only in the frame of the Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning statistics on tourism demand. Statistics include data on residents’ (aged 15 years and over); tourism demand (participation, trips, nights, and expenditure); participation in tourism for personal purposes; number of tourism trips; number of tourism nights; and expenditure on tourism trips.

Further information on the National Tourism Survey can be accessed here.

» Tourstat

The main aim of the Tourstat survey is to collect information on tourism demand, for both inbound and outbound trips with at least one overnight stay outside the usual environment. Tourism demand statistics include information on participation in tourism and information on tourism trips and visitors making the trips or same-day visits.

On an international level, the characteristics of outbound same-day visits are transmitted to Eurostat on an annual basis to satisfy the requirements laid down in Regulation (EU) No. 692/2011 concerning European statistics on tourism and repealing Council Directive 95/57/EC. The first reference period was on 1st January 2014.

Further information on the Tourstat Survey can be accessed here.

» Malta Skills Survey

A nationwide study known as the Malta Skills Survey was conducted between October and December 2022. This study was the first of its kind and aimed to take stock of Malta’s skills and qualifications among the working-age population. Its findings will provide valuable insight into the skills profile of Malta’s workforce.

» Copy of the Malta Skills Questionnaire.

» Find out more.

Business Surveys

» Accomstat

The Accommodation Statistics Survey (Accomstat) collects information from Collective Accommodation Establishments on the number of guests’ arrivals, the nights spent and the room nights sold. Such information is collected on a monthly basis.

This Survey may be accessed from the following link.

» Intrastat

The Intrastat collects information from merchants on the trade in goods between the countries of the European Union and replaced customs declarations as the source of trade statistics within the EU. Such information is collected on a monthly basis.

This Survey may be accessed from the following link.

» eSTS

The electronic Short-Term Statistics survey (eSTS) collects information from selected enterprises on turnover, employment, hours worked and wages and salaries. On the basis of the information provided, various short-term indicators in the form of indices are produced. These indices provide crucial information on the early developments of the economy. Data is collected on a monthly and quarterly basis.

This Survey may be accessed from the following link.

» Commercial Rents Survey

The Price Statistics Unit within the National Statistics Office (NSO) is responsible for the compilation of Commercial Real Estate statistics as part of the recommendation of the European Systematic Risk Board (ESRB) on closing real estate data gaps.

The ESRB is responsible for the macroprudential oversight of the EU financial system and the prevention and mitigation of systemic risk. The ESRB therefore has a broad remit, covering banks, insurers, asset managers, shadow banks, financial market infrastructures and other financial institutions and markets. In pursuit of its macroprudential mandate, the ESRB monitors and assesses systemic risks and, where appropriate, issues warnings and recommendations. Further information can be accessed through the following link.

As part of the data collection for the compilation of these indicators, the Price Statistics Unit is carrying out a survey amongst businesses to capture information on commercial rent. This survey may be accessed from here.

Other Surveys

» User Satisfaction Survey

The User Satisfaction Survey conducted by NSO aims to collect user feedback regarding the quality and timeliness of data produced by the organization. The survey covers various aspects, including the quality, timeliness, and usefulness of NSO News Releases and tailor-made requests provided. It also gathers statistics on the purpose of using NSO data, quality comparisons with other organizations, user trust in NSO statistics, and user activity on the NSO website.

» Find out more.

» Lifestyle Survey

This survey aims to collect data on the lifestyles of Maltese residents, including information on their transportation, hobbies, life satisfaction, smoking and alcohol consumption, health, fruit and vegetable intake, as well as weight and height.

» Find out more.

» Time-use Survey

The Time-Use Survey (TUS) is a project commissioned by the National Statistics Office (NSO) to collect data on how the Maltese population aged 10 years and over spends their time. It is the first of its kind in the country and a pilot survey was conducted to represent the period in which data was collected. Although the study is still ongoing, initial findings reveal interesting trends in how different groups in the population spend their time.

This Survey may be accessed from the following link: Time-use_Survey.pdf