Statistics
The Central Bank of Malta (the Bank) is responsible for the collection, compilation and dissemination of an array of statistics. The Bank, as a member of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), is guided by the overriding Principles and by an agreed Governance Structure of the ESCB. These principles ensure that the statistics compiled comply with European and international standards and guidelines, stressing the importance of good practices and ethical standards.
At the national level, the Bank has primary responsibility for collecting statistics in the area of Monetary, Banking, Financial Markets, Financial Stability, and Payment Systems. To assist in the collection of such information, the Bank makes available Returns, Report Forms and Instructions, together with the General Notes and Abbreviations List, to the reporting institutions.
The Bank is also responsible for compiling Financial Accounts statistics. In addition, the Bank is involved, together with the National Statistics Office (NSO), in the compilation of Malta’s External Statistics, namely the Balance of Payments (BOP) and the International Investment Position (IIP). The Bank is also responsible for the compilation of statistics on Malta's External Debt and Gross External Reserves, and draws up the official Reserves Template. It is also responsible for the compilation, in line with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) methodology, of the Government Finance Statistics required annually by the Fund. The division of responsibilities between the Bank and the NSO in the area of statistics is established in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Bank, NSO and the Malta Statistics Authority. Other statistics collected include a range of Real Economy Indicators, including Sample Surveys, on both domestic and international developments. The Bank releases various statistics on its website and also an Advance Release Calendar.
The Bank also contributes and participates in the IMF’S Special Data Dissemination Standard Plus (SDDS+). The SDDS+ inter alia prescribes qualitative requirements, the practices that enhance accessibility and the integrity and quality of the disseminated data.
As part of the Eurosystem, the Bank transmits a range of statistics to the European Central Bank (ECB), which feature in the ECB’s Statistical Data Warehouse. Selected indicators for Malta can also be compared with other comparable euro area indicators which can be viewed and downloaded from the Statistical Pages of the European Central Bank's website.
Following the adoption of the euro in 2008, all data is being shown in euro, with past data in Maltese Lira being converted at the irrevocable conversion rate in line with the approach followed by the NSO and the Bank.
For further information kindly contact us by e-mail or write to:
Head
Statistics Department
Central Bank of Malta
Pjazza Kastilja
Valletta, VLT 1060
Malta