Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Italy instead of Malta, you would:
Health
live 1.0 years longer
In Malta, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Italy, that number is 84 years (82 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024.
be 54.3% less likely to be obese
In Malta, 30.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Italy, that number is 14.0% of people as of 2024.
see 12.5% less spent on your healthcare
Malta spends $5,706 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Italy spends $4,993 as of 2024.
Economy
be 2.2 times more likely to be unemployed
In Malta, 2.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Italy, that number is 6.4% as of 2025.
be 20.4% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Malta, 16.7% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Italy, however, that number is 20.1% as of 2021.
Life
be 25.0% 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 Italy, 6.0 women do as of 2023.
be 51.1% 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 Italy, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2024.
have 18.2% fewer children
In Malta, there are approximately 7.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Italy, there are 6.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 13.6% less on education
Malta spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Italy spends 4.1% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 38.6 times more coastline
Malta has a total of 197 km of coastline. In Italy, that number is 7,600 km.
Safety
be 2.6 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Malta, road accidents kill 1.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Italy, they kill 5.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 59.0% less strain on fresh water
Malta withdraws 73% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Italy withdraws 30% as of 2022.
find 28.6% less home broadband
Malta has 44.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Italy has 31.8 as of 2024.
Environment
be 28.6% less likely to die from air pollution
In Malta, air pollution causes 21.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Italy, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 59.7% more CO2
Malta emits 3.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Italy emits 5.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Malta vs. Italy
Italy: At a glance
How big is Italy compared to Malta? See an in-depth size comparison.