An interesting publication by the National Statistics Office earlier this year is the one titled Social Protection: Malta and the EU 2012. It captures data for the period 2007-2011 and focuses on “all interventions by public and private bodies that are intended to relieve households and individuals of a known set of risks or needs”.
Social protection systems, which I have often referred to in past contributions as social welfare, are expected to address those less advantaged in society and their expected outcome is a reduction in poverty levels.
The data on Malta show an improved welfare system in terms of the financial resources applied. In 2011, a total of €1,240 million were spent, representing 19 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
This is an increase of 27.5 per cent over the levels of 2007, when expenditure was €972 million, representing 17.4 per cent of the GDP. Thus, over a four-year period, a bigger share of the wealth created by the country has been devoted to social welfare. The number of beneficiaries in 2011 stood at 106,247 compared to 98,915.
The NSO report refers to 19 different types of expenditure, but the bulk of the expenditure goes to social...
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