Quality of life comparison
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Malta, you would:
Health
be 73.6% less likely to die by suicide
Malta has a suicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In United Arab Emirates, it is 1.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 34.7% less spent on your healthcare
Malta spends $5,706 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). United Arab Emirates spends $3,727 as of 2023.
have 33.7% fewer doctors per person
Malta has 45.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. United Arab Emirates has 29.9 as of 2023.
Economy
be 25.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Malta, 2.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 2.2% as of 2025.
Life
be 62.5% 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 United Arab Emirates, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 19.1% 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 United Arab Emirates, on the other hand, 3.8 children do as of 2024.
have 27.5% more children
In Malta, there are approximately 7.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In United Arab Emirates, there are 9.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 17.4% less on education
Malta spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. United Arab Emirates spends 3.9% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 43.8% less on healthcare
Malta spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 6.7 times more coastline
Malta has a total of 197 km of coastline. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 1,318 km.
Safety
be 23.2% more likely to be murdered
Malta has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2022.
be 3.1 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Malta, road accidents kill 1.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In United Arab Emirates, they kill 5.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 3.0 times more electricity
Malta uses 5,013 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. United Arab Emirates uses 15,285 kWh as of 2023.
live with 20.8 times more strain on fresh water
Malta withdraws 73% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. United Arab Emirates withdraws 1510% as of 2022.
Environment
be 3.3 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Malta, air pollution causes 21.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In United Arab Emirates, it causes 70.0 as of 2019.
emit 5.7 times more CO2
Malta emits 3.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. United Arab Emirates emits 18.3 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. United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: At a glance
How big is United Arab Emirates compared to Malta? See an in-depth size comparison.