Overview of Human Rights in Malta

The Republic of Malta is a parliamentary democracy.  Recent elections were considered free and fair by international standards. The government generally respects the human rights of its citizens. When individual instances of abuse do occur, the law provides effective means of addressing them. In the last year, only child abuse and human trafficking were reported as serious human rights violations in the region.  Overall, Malta has a positive human rights record.

Human Development Index (HDI) Rank:

32nd out of 177

Note: Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the level of well-being of nations in the world. It uses factors such as poverty, literacy, life-expectancy, education, gross domestic product, and purchasing power parity to assess the average achievements in each nation. It has been used in the United Nation’s Human Development Report since 1993.