Gross Value Added (GVA) — the net result of output valued at basic prices less intermediate consumption valued at purchasers’ prices — was up by €191.8m in Q2 2019 when compared to the same quarter last year.

The upward trend was boosted by arts, entertainment and recreation, repair of household goods and other services increasing by €40.1m (9.7%); professional, scientific and technical activities, administrative and support service activities increasing by €37.4m (9.4%); and wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, accommodation and food service which increasing €32.5m (5.4%).

Considering the effects of income and taxation paid and received by residents to and from the rest of the world, Gross National Income (GNI) — different to GDP measure in terms of net compensation receipts, net property income receivable and net taxes (minus subsidies) receivable on production and imports from abroad — is estimated at €3.001b at market prices for the second quarter of 2019.

Final consumption expenditure increased by 6.5% in nominal terms and 4.8% in volume terms, according to the expenditure approach — a method used for calculating GDP and is derived by adding the consumption of households, government and non-profit institutions serving households, investment and net exports.

Household expenditure was up by 5.4% in nominal terms and 3.8% in volume terms, and government expenditure grew by 9.9% in nominal terms and 7.3% in volume terms; the two segments being the main contributors to the growth, according to NSO figures.

Gross fixed capital formation increased by 3.6% in nominal terms and 0.8% in volume terms, while exports of goods and services increased by 2.3% in nominal terms and decreased by 0.2% in volume terms. Imports of goods and services increased by 0.8% in nominal terms and decreased by 2.3% in volume terms. Recent statistics by another NSO report have shown that Malta’s trade deficit was widening in the first seven months of the year.

The €204m increase in GDP at current prices is estimated to have been distributed into a €69.5m increase in compensation of employees, a €129.9m increase in gross operating surplus and mixed-income and a €4.6m increase in net taxation on production and imports, as compared to the second quarter of the preceding year, according to the income approach — which is used to measure economic activity is the income approach which shows how GDP at market prices is distributed among compensation of employees, operating surplus of enterprises and taxes on production and imports, net of subsidies.

“The coming budget will ensure that this growth is sustained so that it continues to be enjoyed by Maltese and Gozitan families through a higher standard of living and a better quality of life”, said Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna, according to a press statement issued by the Department of Information (DOI) after the NSO figures had been released.

Editorial note: The full publication by NSO is available for download on the official website of the office. The present article has been updated with a quote from the finance minister.

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A total of 251,747 trips were carried out for holiday purposes while 15,545 were for business purposes.

The number of tourists from non-EU countries went up by 17.1% when compared to the corresponding month in 2018. Most inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44 (42.2%), followed by those within the 45-64 age bracket (29.2%). 

The number of nights spent in Malta went up by 5.1% when compared to June 2018, surpassing 1.9 million. The largest share of guest nights (53.4%) was spent in collective accommodation establishments. 

Growth seen in H1, too

In the first half of the year, inbound tourist trips amounted to 1,208,068, up by 3.9% over the same period of 2018. Total nights spent also went up by 2.4%, reaching nearly 7.9m nights in H1.

In addition, expenditure was estimated at €883.5m, 5.1% higher than in the same half of 2018. Total expenditure per capita stood at €731, an increase of 1.1% when compared to the previous year. 

The report with charts, tables and numbers is available for download at the website of NSO. 

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The business enterprise sector contributed 65.3% to total R&D, whereas the higher education and government sectors contributed 33.8% and 0.9%, respectively.

Primarily, the R&D expenditure is dedicated to basic research, with 52.1% of total R&D in 2017, followed by applied research (32.6%) and experimental development (15.3%). 

In addition, both the business enterprise and the higher education sectors reported increases in R&D expenditure in 2017, compared to the previous year. Higher outlays on the recurrent expenditure triggered the higher R&D expenditure of €7.6m in business enterprise and €2.8m higher education. However, the capital expenditure for the business enterprise and the higher education sectors dropped by €0.9m and €2.1m, respectively. 

The highest rate of R&D activity was recorded in engineering and technology which accounted for 45.7% of total expenditure, followed by natural sciences (22%) and medical sciences (16%). Moreover, the year-on-year comparison shows that the highest increase was registered in natural sciences (€3.7m), followed by medical sciences (€3.4m). 

Each sector mostly funds its research, supplemented by foreign funds — €7.1m or 10.8% of the total in 2017 —, NSO figures underscore. In the business enterprise sector players chiefly use local business enterprise funds, the higher education sector applies general university funds, while the government sector utilises EU funds or direct government funds.

Men still outnumber women

Some 2,479 employees worked in the R&D sector, with 1,451 of them working part-time. The higher education sector employed 1,280 in R&D, while the business enterprise sector saw staff numbers reaching 1,117. 

The researcher and technician roles were filled by men predominantly, while women outnumbered men in the support staff division. In total, women were still in minority with 34.7%. 

Engineering and technology employed 806, while natural sciences and social sciences saw staff numbers reaching 607 and 450 employees, respectively.

The full report with charts and tables included is available for download through the NSO website.

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Contributory benefits rose by 3.9% (€29.3m) to €778.9m, while non-contributory benefit outlay dropped by 0.5% (€0.9m) to €186.3m.

“In 2018, the largest cohort of contributory beneficiaries was reported under the two-thirds pension (48,987), which coincidentally also recorded the biggest rise in beneficiaries with 645 more recipients than in 2017,” the NSO report says. Retirement pension, however, saw the highest drop in beneficiaries with 763 fewer people receiving such than a year earlier.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

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In the first two months of the year, recurrent revenue amounted to €689.2m, up by 4.8% (€31.3m), as compared to €657.9m by the end of February a year earlier, NSO figures reveal.

The revenue was chiefly boosted by an increase in the income tax (€21.6m) and social security (€19.5m); while further growth occurred in value-added tax (€7.2m), rents (€2m), and the licences, taxes and fines segment (€0.8m).

Outlay drops occurred in dividends (€4.8m), the Central Bank of Malta (€4m), fees of office (€3.7m), reimbursements and grants (both €2.6m), customs and excise duties (€1.6m) and miscellaneous receipts (€0.5m).

Total expenditure at the end of February was up by a year-on-year 17.7% to €752.1m. Recurrent expenditure stood was up by €73.9m to €650.9m. The increase was chiefly fuelled by a €53.2m rise in programmes and initiatives, followed by personal emoluments (€14.4m), operational and maintenance expenses (€3.4m) and contributions to government entities (€3m).

“The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a deficit of €62.9m being reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund by the end of February 2019, compared to a surplus of €18.7m during the same period in 2018. The main catalysts in the difference were increased outlays in both recurrent and capital expenditure,” the NSO says in the report.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

The Maltese government’s consolidated fund registered a deficit of €55m by the end of January, while recurrent revenue rose by year-on-year €19.4m (6.8%) to €302.4m — from January 2018’s €283m —, according to recent figures published by Malta’s National Statistics Office (NSO).

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Holiday tourism still leads the way with 105,766 inbound tourist trips, while 10,332 trips were undertaken for business purposes. Incoming tourists arriving from other EU member states increased by 8.9%, reaching 101,792 in December 2018, as compared to the same month the preceding year.

In December, tourists spent a total of €78.3m, which figure slightly increase by 1.1% as compared to the same month in 2017. Some 40.1% of the inbound tourists were aged 25-44, and 33.5% were aged 45-65.

Tourists arriving in Malta spent 10.1% more nights in December, as compared to the same month in 2017, totalling 870,538, with 49.3% spending the nights at collective accommodation establishments, according to data by the NSO.

Last year, inbound tourism trips saw an overall increase of 14.3%, reaching nearly 2.6 million, as compared to the preceding year. Total nights spent by tourists increased by 12.5% up to 18.6 million nights. Tourists arriving in the Maltese archipelago spent an estimated €2.1bn, an 8% growth as compared to the previous year. However, per capita, total expenditure dropped by 5.5% to €809, according to NSO statistics.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

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