"Malta’s cost of living is significantly higher than the EU average."

The claim in context

In a press release on 18 March 2026, the Nationalist Party argued that data from the National Statistics Office and Eurostat show Malta's cost of living "continues to remain consistently at a significantly higher level than the European Union average." The party cited the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for February 2026 as evidence.

"The cost of living in Malta continues to remain consistently at a significantly higher level than the European Union average, as well as compared to the average of euro area countries."

What the data shows

The PN's HICP figures are accurate. In February 2026, Malta's annual inflation rate was 2.3% — 0.4 points above the eurozone (1.9%) and 0.2 points above the EU as a whole (2.1%).

But HICP measures the rate of change in prices — how much more expensive things have become over twelve months. It does not measure how expensive things are. For that, the standard reference is Eurostat's Price Level Index, which compares the actual cost of a common basket of goods against an EU average of 100.

Malta sits in the EU mid-range — well below the most expensive countries and slightly below the EU average overall. The PN's framing implies the opposite.

Where the concern is real

This is not a clean win for the government either. Malta is genuinely above the EU average in some everyday categories — food prices were about 10.9% above the EU average in 2024, and Malta is the most expensive EU country for furniture and for oils and fats. Households who spend a high share of income on those items will feel an above-EU price level even if the overall basket is mid-range.

Bottom line

The PN's underlying numbers are accurate, but those numbers measure the rate of inflation, not the level of prices. Eurostat's price-level data places Malta near the EU middle. The claim is misleading because it uses correct figures to support a stronger conclusion than they can carry.