Why living in Malta ‘is good for your health’

Living in Malta is good for your health, according to a study.

Researchers found Maltese people live on average 90 per cent of their life in good health, better than any other EU country.

Life expectancy in Malta was also higher than anywhere else in Europe.

Maltese men live on average until the age of 79.8 years – more than a year longer than the EU average.

Women, on the other hand, lived to the average age of 84.3, again, a year longer than the EU average.

The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies report also showed that Malta has the lowest preventable death rate in Europe.

Malta's health minister Chris Fearne said: 'We often cite statistics on operations, but the best health indicator for me is how we can keep our population free from disease.

'Malta has the highest healthy living rate and the lowest preventable mortality rate in Europe, which shows that we must do something right.'

Obesity was ranked as the principal public health problem in Malta with one in four adults seriously overweight.