Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Malta instead of Ireland, you would:
Health
have 16.5% more doctors per person
Ireland has 38.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Malta has 45.1 as of 2022.
be 24.3% less likely to die by suicide
Ireland has a suicide rate of 8.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Malta, it is 6.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 35.0% less spent on your healthcare
Ireland spends $8,772 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Malta spends $5,706 as of 2023.
Economy
be 37.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Ireland, 4.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Malta, that number is 2.9% as of 2025.
be 19.3% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Ireland, 14.0% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Malta, however, that number is 16.7% as of 2021.
make 63.6% less money
Ireland has a GDP per capita of $131,592 as of 2025, while in Malta, the GDP per capita is $47,907 as of 2025.
Life
be 100.0% more likely to die during childbirth
In Ireland, approximately 4.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Malta, 8.0 women do as of 2023.
be 38.2% more likely to die during infancy
In Ireland, approximately 3.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Malta, on the other hand, 4.7 children do as of 2024.
have 23.0% fewer children
In Ireland, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Malta, there are 7.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 62.4% more on education
Ireland spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Malta spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 29.1% more on healthcare
Ireland spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Malta, that number is 8.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 86.4% less coastline
Ireland has a total of 1,448 km of coastline. In Malta, that number is 197 km.
Safety
be 13.8% less likely to be murdered
Ireland has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Malta, that number is 0.6 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 32.1% less likely to die in a road accident
In Ireland, road accidents kill 2.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Malta, they kill 1.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 37.8% more home broadband
Ireland has 32.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Malta has 44.5 as of 2024.
live with 9.0 times more strain on fresh water
Ireland withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Malta withdraws 73% as of 2022.
use 20.4% less electricity
Ireland uses 6,298 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Malta uses 5,013 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 47.4% less CO2
Ireland emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Malta emits 3.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 61.5% more likely to die from air pollution
In Ireland, air pollution causes 13.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Malta, it causes 21.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Ireland vs. Malta
Malta: At a glance
How big is Malta compared to Ireland? See an in-depth size comparison.