Provisional estimates indicate that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of 2025 amounted to €6.3 billion, registering an increase of €442.2 million, or 7.6 per cent, when compared to the same quarter of 2024. In volume terms, GDP rose by 6.4 per cent, the NSO said Thursday.
For the fourth quarter of 2025, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Maltese economy registered a positive year-on-year growth rate of 6.4 per cent in volume terms.
The GDP deflator went up by 1.1 per cent compared to the same quarter last year. This represents a decrease of 1.3 percentage points over the year-on-year rate recorded in the third quarter of 2025.
The production approach
The production approach, also called the output approach, measures GDP as the sum of the Gross Value Added (GVA), which is the difference between the value of Output and the value of Intermediate consumption, and Taxes less subsidies on products.
During the fourth quarter of 2025, GVA rose by 3.9 per cent in volume terms, when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2024.
The contributions to the GVA growth rate in volume terms of Service activities (NACE Sections G to U) and Agriculture and fishing were positive at 4.3 and 0.1 percentage points, respectively. Industry (NACE Sections B to F) contributed negatively by 0.5 percentage points.
The increase in Service activities was mainly driven by the growth rates recorded in the following sectors: Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (19.9 per cent), Information and communication (8.8 per cent) and Transportation and storage (10.4 per cent).
The expenditure approach
The expenditure approach is another method used to calculate GDP and is derived by adding Final consumption expenditure, Gross capital formation and Exports less Imports.
Domestic demand had a positive contribution of 3.2 percentage points to the year-on-year GDP growth rate in volume terms. External demand also registered a positive contribution of 3.2 percentage points.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Final consumption expenditure witnessed an increase of 4.0 per cent in volume terms. This was the result of an increase in the expenditure of Households and General government final consumption expenditure of 3.1 and 6.3 per cent, respectively.
Gross fixed capital formation increased by 0.7 per cent in volume terms.
Exports and imports of goods and services in volume terms both rose by 6.1 and 3.9 per cent, respectively.
The income approach
The third approach to measure economic activity is the income approach, which shows how GDP is distributed among Compensation of employees, Gross operating surplus of enterprises and Taxes on production and Imports net of subsidies.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, the €442.2 million increase in nominal GDP was the result of a €100.7 million increase in Compensation of employees, a €140.0 million rise in Gross operating surplus and mixed income, and an increase of €201.5 million in Taxes on production and imports less subsidies.
Gross National Income
Gross National Income (GNI) differs from the GDP measure in terms of net compensation receipts, net property income receivable and net taxes receivable on production and imports from abroad.
Considering the effects of income and taxation paid and received by residents to and from the rest of the world, GNI at market prices for the fourth quarter of 2025 was estimated at €5.7 billion.