Market Research Companies in Malta

Key figures for researchers

Population

519,562 (2021 census)¹

Foreign nationals

115,449 residents, more than one in five (2021 census)¹

Gozo and Comino

40,191 residents (2022)⁴

Average age

41.7 years; 43.8 for residents of Gozo (2021 census)¹

Largest localities

St Paul’s Bay 32,042, Birkirkara 25,807, Mosta 23,482 (2021 census, preliminary results)³

Population density

1,649 people per km², the highest in the EU (2021 census)²

Household size

2.4 people per main residence on average (2021 census)⁵

English from early childhood

nearly a quarter of Maltese nationals under 10 (2021 census)⁶

Internet users

96.0% of people aged 16 to 74 (2025)⁸

Inbound tourists

4,022,310, up 12.9% (2025)⁹

Research guide

Research landscape

Malta is a small market: 519,562 people lived on the islands at the 2021 census, and the three largest localities, St Paul’s Bay, Birkirkara and Mosta, together hold 15.7% of the population. Valletta is the capital, and Sliema is the most densely populated town, with 15,167 people per km². Local agencies serve Maltese clients and international studies, often with full-service, field, telephone and online capabilities in the same company.

The international reference for professional standards is the ICC/ESOMAR International Code, whose fifth edition was published in 2025. It is mandatory for ESOMAR members and for organisations that adopt it.

Languages and fieldwork

Under the Constitution, Maltese is the national language, and Maltese and English are both official languages; school teaching is generally delivered in both. Maltese remains the main language of Maltese nationals in all age groups, but English is growing: in the 2021 census, nearly a quarter of Maltese nationals under 10 considered English their first language from early childhood (14.7% of those aged 10 to 19), reaching 37.7% in Swieqi and just over a quarter in Sliema and St Julian’s. Most consumer studies offer both a Maltese and an English questionnaire.

The foreign population has grown fast: 115,449 non-Maltese residents in 2021, more than one in five, up more than fivefold since 2011. Foreigners make up 33% of the Northern Harbour district, against 8.8% of the Western district, so quotas by nationality and locality matter. A national sample also needs Gozo (40,191 residents in 2022 with Comino), where residents are older on average (43.8 years against 41.5 in Malta) and 45% of dwellings are secondary, seasonal or vacant.

Which methods work

Connectivity is very high: in 2025, 96.0% of people aged 16 to 74 used the internet, and everyone aged 16 to 44 had used it in the previous three months. Online surveys work well for most consumer targets, and mobile-friendly questionnaires are essential.

Regular internet use is lower among people aged 65 to 74 (76.9% in 2025), and the 2021 census counted 20,453 people as illiterate (literacy rate 95.7%). Telephone (CATI) and face-to-face interviews remain useful for older people, Gozo, B2B decision makers and hard-to-reach groups. Because the population is small, some targets are thin in online panels: check feasibility before fixing sample sizes.

Timing

The village festa season runs from the end of May, through the entire summer and well into September: there is hardly a weekend without a town or village celebrating its patron saint, and a festa usually lasts three days or longer, with decorated streets, food stalls and fireworks in the evening.Face-to-face fieldwork and evening telephone calls in the locality concerned are harder during its feast.

Tourism also peaks in summer: Malta received 4,022,310 inbound tourists in 2025, for 25.4 million nights. Respondents working in tourism and hospitality are hard to reach in high season. Public holidays in 2027 include 10 February, 19 March, Good Friday (26 March), 31 March, 1 May, 7 June, 29 June, 15 August, 8 and 21 September, 8 and 13 December, and Christmas. Avoid the Christmas and New Year period and the days around 15 August.

Data protection

Personal data is governed by the GDPR and the Data Protection Act (Chapter 586 of the Laws of Malta), which replaced the previous act (Chapter 440) in 2018. The supervisory authority is the Information and Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC).

Under the Maltese rules, a child’s consent to information society services is valid from the age of 13. A controller that plans to process genetic, biometric or health data in the public interest for statistical or research purposes must consult the Commissioner and obtain prior authorisation. Ask your agency which lawful basis it uses, how respondents are informed, where the data is hosted and how recordings or video will be shared with you.

Working with a local agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, Malta and Gozo split, method, languages and deadline.
• Ask whether the agency follows the ICC/ESOMAR International Code.
• Ask whether the questionnaire will be offered in Maltese and English, and how foreign residents will be reached.
• Ask which panels or fieldwork suppliers will be used, and how quotas by locality, age, gender and nationality are set and weighted.
• Check fieldwork dates against local festas, the summer tourist season and 15 August.
• Agree in writing who is controller and who is processor of the personal data, and the retention period.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 companies from this page.