Claims made by Nationalist Party representatives suggest that child poverty in Malta is increasing, citing recent EU statistics that 26% of Maltese children are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The comments, made during a press conference by Shadow Ministers Ivan Bartolo, Graziella Attard Previ, and Albert Buttigieg, call on the government to take urgent action to ensure no child is left behind.

However, a closer examination of the data reveals a more nuanced picture, one that shows a steady and significant decline in child poverty over the last decade.

According to Eurostat data, the percentage of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion in Malta has fallen from 32% in 2013 to 25.9% in 2024. While the current figure is close to the 26% cited by the PN, it actually reflects a positive downward trend rather than a recent increase.

Moreover, material and social deprivation among children has dropped dramatically, from 28% to 10.1% over the past ten years. Severe deprivation has also decreased significantly, from 11.6% to 4.8%, meaning that roughly 13,000 children have been lifted out of the most vulnerable conditions.

The government attributes these improvements to its long-term social policy agenda and a substantial increase in public investment in families and children. Eurostat data confirms that social spending on families has more than doubled since 2012, rising from €81 million to €172 million annually.

Let’s not foreget broader economic gains, such as Malta’s improved employment rate, which has risen from one of the lowest in Europe to one of the highest. These gains, it argues, have directly contributed to a better standard of living for Maltese and Gozitan children.

The government’s recently announced Social Plan for the Family 2025–2030 aims to continue this momentum, introducing 71 new measures to support families. These include enhancements to child benefits, parental leave, tax incentives, and the introduction of a child-minding allowance for grandparents, alongside further investments in healthcare, education, housing, and community services.

The Take-Away

While the PN is right to highlight the importance of tackling child poverty, an issue that deserves constant attention, the claim that the situation is worsening is not borne out by the data. In fact, the overall trend shows consistent improvement across several key indicators. The figure cited by the opposition must be understood in context: it is a snapshot within a broader, long-term decline in child poverty and social exclusion.

The evidence suggests that, while challenges remain, significant progress has been made and current policies aim to build on these gains in the years ahead.