Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Ireland instead of Malta, you would:
Health
see 53.7% more spent on your healthcare
Malta spends $5,706 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Ireland spends $8,772 as of 2024.
have 14.1% fewer doctors per person
Malta has 45.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Ireland has 38.8 as of 2023.
be 32.1% more likely to die by suicide
Malta has a suicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Ireland, it is 8.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 16.2% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Malta, 16.7% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Ireland, however, that number is 14.0% as of 2021.
make 2.7 times more money
Malta has a GDP per capita of $47,907 as of 2025, while in Ireland, the GDP per capita is $131,592 as of 2025.
be 59.7% more likely to be unemployed
In Malta, 2.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Ireland, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.
Life
be 50.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Malta, approximately 8.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Ireland, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
be 27.7% less likely to die during infancy
In Malta, approximately 4.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Ireland, on the other hand, 3.4 children do as of 2024.
have 29.9% more children
In Malta, there are approximately 7.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Ireland, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 38.4% less on education
Malta spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Ireland spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 22.5% less on healthcare
Malta spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Ireland, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 7.4 times more coastline
Malta has a total of 197 km of coastline. In Ireland, that number is 1,448 km.
Safety
be 16.1% more likely to be murdered
Malta has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Ireland, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 47.4% more likely to die in a road accident
In Malta, road accidents kill 1.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Ireland, they kill 2.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 88.9% less strain on fresh water
Malta withdraws 73% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Ireland withdraws 8% as of 2022.
use 25.6% more electricity
Malta uses 5,013 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Ireland uses 6,298 kWh as of 2024.
find 27.4% less home broadband
Malta has 44.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Ireland has 32.3 as of 2024.
Environment
be 38.1% less likely to die from air pollution
In Malta, air pollution causes 21.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Ireland, it causes 13.0 as of 2019.
emit 89.9% more CO2
Malta emits 3.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Ireland emits 6.0 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Malta vs. Ireland
Ireland: At a glance
How big is Ireland compared to Malta? See an in-depth size comparison.