The quality of life in Malta and Gozo

Abstract

In Malta, many of the elements which make up a satisfactory quality of life: opportunities for schoolleavers, employment, access to services such as health care and adequate transportation and protection of the environment are frequently discussed. Certainly, editorials and letters in the daily and weekly press regularly feature these and other socially relevant issues. While problems like the frequency and reliability of bus services and environmental conflicts concern particular localities, others such as unemployment are usually discussed in national terms. A further difficulty for the researcher has been a lack of appropriate statistics. Although Malta has an efficient statistical service with many annual publications, most data are at the national rather than locality level, making comparison between different communities virtually impossible.