"The economy is one-third bigger than before Covid."

The claim in context

Prime Minister Robert Abela has used the line "the economy is one-third bigger than before Covid" to summarise the post-pandemic recovery. The 2019 baseline is the standard pre-pandemic reference point.

Real vs nominal: which growth?

Real GDP cumulative growth from 2019 to 2024 is roughly 25–30%, the result of an 8.6% Covid contraction in 2020, a strong 19% rebound in 2021, and slower expansion since. "One-third bigger" sits at the upper edge of that range — defensible if measured in real terms, slightly aspirational at the precise wording.

In nominal terms (which include inflation) Malta is actually more than 1/3 bigger — from roughly €14 billion in 2019 to €23 billion in 2024, about 64% higher. Reading the claim charitably as a real-terms summary makes it Mostly True; reading it strictly puts it slightly above what the data supports.

Bottom line

Real-terms growth is in the right ballpark; nominal-terms growth is materially larger. Either way the framing of "much bigger than pre-Covid" stands. The exact 1/3 figure is at the optimistic edge of the real-terms read.