Malta's government expenditure on recreation, culture and religion in 2016 stood at 1% of GDP, which is exactly the same as the EU average, Eurostat figures show.

In the euro area, the figure was slightly higher (1.1 %), also unchanged from 2015. Total expenditure in this area includes spending on sports and recreational facilities, libraries, museums, theatres, broadcasting services and facilities for religious and other community services.

The Maltese percentage was 0.2% lower than the amount spent in 2015, the statistics read.

In 2016, the Member States with the highest government expenditure on recreation, culture and religion, as a percentage of GDP, were Hungary (3.3 %), Estonia (2.1 %), Croatia and Denmark (both 1.8 %). The Member States with the lowest government expenditure in this area were Ireland (0.5 %), United Kingdom (0.6 %), followed by Greece, Italy and Portugal (all 0.8 %).