Malta

Malta: strong, sustained growth, 1980–2024

Since independence in 1964 and EU accession in 2004, Malta has transformed itself into a services economy built on tourism, financial services, online gaming, and ship registration, posting some of the fastest growth in the eurozone. Between 1980 and 2024, Malta's GDP per capita grew from $3,948 to $43,899 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 5.6% — strong, sustained growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 5.0% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 4.0 points, reflecting considerable volatility and periodic crises. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 3.5% to 0.2% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 30.5% to 81.8% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 72.2 to 83.0 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 25.0% to 80.5%, while the urban population share grew from 89.6% to 95.7%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions fell from 3.22 to 3.18 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) widened from 28.0 to 31.8; the poverty headcount ratio fell from 0.5% to 0.4%.