Inflation was lower between 2008 and 2012 than in the past five years, despite today's more extensive energy subsidies.
Sergio Mallia
Average HICP inflation was 2.84% in 2008 to 2012 and 3.44% in 2021 to 2025, so the claim is accurate. But inflation alone does not show whether households are under more pressure, because that depends on whether pay kept up. In 2008 to 2012, prices rose by 15.1% and pay per employee by 19.7%, so real wages grew by 4.0%. In 2021 to 2025, prices rose faster, by 18.4%, but pay rose by 29.5%, so real wages grew by 9.5%. Prices rose faster in recent years, but pay rose faster still.How we reached this verdict ↓
Analysis and evaluation
Inflation was indeed lower in 2008 to 2012 than in 2021 to 2025. But households feel the cost of living through prices compared with pay, and in both periods pay grew faster than prices.
The inflation figures are correct
| Year | HICP inflation | Year | HICP inflation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 4.7% | 2021 | 0.7% |
| 2009 | 1.8% | 2022 | 6.1% |
| 2010 | 2.0% | 2023 | 5.6% |
| 2011 | 2.5% | 2024 | 2.4% |
| 2012 | 3.2% | 2025 | 2.4% |
| Average | 2.84% | Average | 3.44% |
Annual average HICP inflation, Malta. Source: Eurostat, prc_hicp_aind.
The recent average is pulled up by two years, 2022 and 2023. By 2024, inflation had fallen back to 2.4%.
Pay grew faster than prices in both periods
2008 to 2012
| Year | Pay per employee | Pay growth | HICP inflation | Real wage growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | €18,054 | +4.4% | +4.7% | −0.2% |
| 2009 | €18,375 | +1.8% | +1.8% | −0.1% |
| 2010 | €19,270 | +4.9% | +2.0% | +2.8% |
| 2011 | €20,030 | +3.9% | +2.5% | +1.4% |
| 2012 | €20,697 | +3.3% | +3.2% | +0.1% |
| 2007 to 2012 | +19.7% | +15.1% | +4.0% |
2021 to 2025
| Year | Pay per employee | Pay growth | HICP inflation | Real wage growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | €29,487 | +5.4% | +0.7% | +4.6% |
| 2022 | €31,361 | +6.4% | +6.1% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | €32,189 | +2.6% | +5.6% | −2.8% |
| 2024 | €34,764 | +8.0% | +2.4% | +5.4% |
| 2025 | €36,248 | +4.3% | +2.4% | +1.8% |
| 2020 to 2025 | +29.5% | +18.4% | +9.5% |
Pay per employee = compensation of employees ÷ number of employees. Real growth = pay growth adjusted for HICP. Sources: Eurostat, nama_10_gdp, nama_10_pe and prc_hicp_aind, updated October 2026.
Over 2008 to 2012, real wages grew by 0.8% a year on average. Over 2021 to 2025, they grew by 1.8% a year. Workers lost ground in 2023, when inflation outpaced pay, and more than recovered it in 2024. Much of the recent period's lead comes from 2021, when pay rebounded after the pandemic: measured from 2021, real wages grew by 4.6%, against 4.3% over the same span from 2008.
Energy subsidies and inflation
The claim also sets the comparison against today's energy subsidies. In December 2022, the Central Bank of Malta attributed the rise in inflation to increases across every main part of the consumer basket except energy, driven by import prices. Subsidies that hold energy prices down cannot stop imported food, other goods or services getting dearer. Higher inflation than in an earlier period does not show the subsidies had no effect. That would need a comparison with what inflation would have been over the same years without them.
Evaluation
The claim is accurate: inflation was lower in 2008 to 2012 than in 2021 to 2025. What it leaves out changes the picture of the cost of living. Pay rose faster than prices in both periods, so higher inflation today has not meant a loss of purchasing power compared with 2008 to 2012. That is why the claim is rated True but lacks context.
Editorial note
How we assessed this claim
We read the claim as a paraphrase of the speaker's argument, and took "the past five years" to mean 2021 to 2025, the latest five complete calendar years.
To measure the cost of living, we compared inflation with pay per employee over the same years, using Eurostat data for both periods so the figures are consistent.
Limitations
- Pay per employee includes employers' social security contributions, and it is an average across all employees. It moves when the mix of jobs changes, for example when many lower-paid workers join the workforce.
- Much of the recent period's lead comes from 2021, when pay rebounded after the pandemic. Measured from 2021 rather than 2020, real wages grew by 4.6%, against 4.3% over the same span in the earlier period. On either base, pay kept up with prices in both periods.
- Headline HICP is a general basket. On the Central Bank's measure of frequently purchased items, real wages in the third quarter of 2025 were still slightly below their 2021 level.
- Averages do not show whether lower-paid workers or renters saw the same gains.
- We have no comparable measure of how large the energy subsidies were in each period.
Sources
- Eurostat, HICP annual data, prc_hicp_aind
- Eurostat, Compensation of employees, nama_10_gdp
- Eurostat, Employees, nama_10_pe
- Central Bank of Malta, Economic projections, December 2022
- Central Bank of Malta, Outlook for the Maltese Economy 2026:1, Box 1