When Malta accessed the EU in 2004, its GDP per capita was somewhere around 65% of the EU's average.
Since then, other, and poorer, nations have joined and Malta's GDP has improved.
According to a Eurostat release this week, it is now at 95% of the EU average, beaten by Italy at 96% but above that of member states such as Spain at 92%, the Czech Republic at 88%, Portugal and Slovakia at 77%, and Greece at 67%, as is Hungary, Croatia at 59% and Bulgaria at 48%.
At the other end of the scale, Luxembourg is 267% of the EU average, Germany 123%, surpassed by Ireland at 177%, the Netherlands at 128%, Austria at 126%, and Denmark at 125% with the UK at 108%, France at 105%.
With regards to consumption, Malta is still classed in the third bunch of EU member states, those with consumption at between 10% and 20% below the EU average.
Actual Individual Consumption is a measure of material welfare of households. Based on first preliminary estimates for 2016, AIC per capita expressed in Purchasing Power Standards varied from 53% to 132% of the European Union average across the Member States.
Ten Member States recorded AIC per capita above the EU average in 2016. The highest level in the EU was recorded in Luxembourg, 32% above the EU average. Germany and Austria were around 20% above, followed by the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Sweden which all recorded levels between 10% and 15% above the EU average.
AIC per capita for twelve Member States lay between the EU average and 25% below. In Ireland, Italy and Cyprus the levels were 10% or less below the EU average, while Spain, Lithuania, Portugal and Malta were between 10% and 20% below. The Czech Republic, Greece, Slovakia, Poland and Slovenia were between 20% and 25% below the average.
Six Member States recorded AIC per capita about 30% or more below the EU average. Estonia, Latvia, Hungary and Romania were between around 30% and 40% below, while Croatia had AIC per capita just over 40% below the EU average and Bulgaria was 53% below.