Malta has a statistical framework for defining and analysing the culture and creative industries (CCIs). The National Statistics Office (NSO) collaborates with Arts Council Malta (ACM) and other entities to map and measure the economic contribution of cultural and creative sectors (CCIs).
Malta aligns its classification of CCIS with international frameworks like the UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics (FCS) and the EU’s Cultural Statistics guidelines set out by Eurostat. The sectors are generally grouped into: Heritage & Museums, including archaeology, archives, libraries, and cultural heritage sites; Visual Arts, including painting, photography, and sculpture; the Performing Arts, including theatre, music, dance, and live performances; Literature & Publishing, including books, magazines, and digital publishing; Audiovisual and Media, including film, television, radio, and video games; Design & Creative Services, including graphic design, fashion, and architecture; Digital Creativity, including software, gaming, and interactive media; and Crafts & Artisan Products, including handmade goods and traditional crafts.
The NSO regularly conducts surveys on cultural participation, employment, and the economic impact of CCIs. Key reports include the Cultural and Creative Practice Survey, assessing levels of activity in terms of cultural practice; the Cultural Participation Survey, analysing engagement with cultural activities; data that can inform reports about the CCIs and its relation to economic indicators, chiefly focusing on employment and value-added contributions of the CCIs.
Eurostat data is very useful and reliable in providing comparative figures within the EU.
In terms of policies and strategies, the National Cultural Policy (NCP 2021) and the regular strategies published by Arts Council Malta (ACM), inform the funding managed by ACM and other entities in terms of support and incentives through programmes, projects, schemes, organisational support, incentives via financial tools including tax incentives, training and capacity building initiatives, education programmes and campaigns. The Creative Economy Strategy (2012) had set the path towards aiming for economic growth and sustainability through the cultural and creative industries (CCIs), focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship. Malta’s Digital Innovation Strategy (2022-2027) supports digital transformation in the CCIs, particularly in gaming, audiovisuals, and digital arts.
Tax incentives and financial support are also made available through the Malta Enterprise schemes that provide financial aid and tax credits for creative startups. The Malta Film Commission administers tax rebates on international film production of up to 40%, while R&D and innovation grants support digital and tech-based creative industries.
In terms of infrastructure and capacity building, the Valletta Design Cluster, overseen by the Valletta Cultural Agency, the legacy project of Valletta 2018, European Capital of Culture acts as a hub for creative startups, coworking, and networking. Esplora Interactive Science Centre, run by Xjenza Malta, the national agency for science, supports STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) projects. Spazju Kreattiv is Malta’s national centre for creativity, hosting exhibitions, performances, and residencies, and supporting many creative collaborations, including a children’s arts programme and festival. There also exist structures that support start-ups and training through incubators and mentorship programmes for creative entrepreneurs including at the University of Malta and Malta Enterprise.
While the Malta Film Commission (MFC) has spearheaded the development of the film services industry, in 2024 the National Audit Office (NAO) identified a series of shortcomings in the transparency and accountability of its governance and financial structures. Its audit led to an evaluation and assessment of the structure to improve its positive impact on both the industry as well as local film production.
The MFC was established by the Malta Film Commission Act in 2005 to strengthen the film industry in Malta. The Act establishes the board, which is appointed by the minister responsible for the film industry and is composed of five members, including a chairperson. The minister appoints also the film commissioner, as a board member. The MFC board generally assists the commissioner with adoption of measures aimed at ensuring that the approved policies and initiatives are translated into concrete action plans. The board also advises the minister on policy matter, integration of local resources, international collaborations and the development of a comprehensive skills training strategy.
The National Cultural Policy (NCP 2021) notes that new forms of cultural engagement became more pronounced during and following the COVID-19 global pandemic. However, further developments in the digital infrastructure are required to ensure that cultural content emerging from Malta gains digital accessibility. The policy set out to facilitate a collectively sourced and publicly supported online platform for different forms of artistic and cultural live performances, eBook libraries, museum virtual tours and talks, as well as offering opportunities to support artists and projects through donation, subscription and pay per view models. It also considered licensing cultural content from the creators on behalf of the public, both as a support mechanism for creative businesses and as a support for households.
The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) introduced the eCommerce Strategy 2022-2025 in recognition of the surge in e-commerce and technological advancements. This strategy built on previous efforts and provides policy direction to further e-commerce, both in number and in the level of service offered. It sought to leverage the Digital Malta Strategy to strengthen the digital economy, focusing on creating a regulatory framework that supports an open, fair, and sustainable e-commerce ecosystem. The strategy emphasised awareness and education initiatives to accelerate uptake, build capacity, and encourage excellence.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malta’s cultural and creative industries (CCIs) encounter several challenges. These include:
- Confronting fragmented governance: The division of the CCIs across multiple ministerial portfolios complicates the formulation of cohesive policies, as areas like film, arts, crafts, and publishing fall under different jurisdictions;
- Bureaucratic Obstacles: Despite progress, the CCIs face fragile systems and bureaucratic hurdles, exacerbated by inconsistent leadership accountability;
- Lack of Corporate Governance: Many Maltese SMEs, often very small and sometimes personally or family-run, operate without formal structures, leading to unstructured decision-making processes. This absence of corporate governance can hinder strategic planning and long-term sustainability;
- The key achievements include a stable economic showing in relation to stable employment and wealth contribution figures, as per figures and research published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) and Eurostat over the past few years.
Other achievements have included growing international recognition. This has taken different forms. Companies like Stargate Studios have gained global recognition in the field of film production. By participating in international festivals like the Venice Biennale for art, the London Design Biennale and the Gwangju Biennale for visual art, the Maltese CCIs have garnered greater international attention.
The recognition of excellence rewards various successful and inspirational initiatives in the CCS. Prize-giving initiatives are organised by a number of public and private entitites involved in the CCS, including the Premju għall-Arti (Arts Award) organised by Arts Council Malta, the Architectural Heritage Awards by Din l-Art Ħelwa cultural heritage NGO recognising excellence in architectural heritage conservation and restoration, the National Book Prize by the National Book Council honouring the best literary works published in Malta, the Premju Francis Ebejer Award for the best original Maltese play and Premju Ġieħ l-Artiġjanat Malti recognising excellence in the crafts by the Malta Crafts Foundation.
Growth in the CCIs relies on collaboration. Collective effort from artists, institutions, public entities, and private stakeholders is growing and being further coordinated. One such sign of exchange of good practice and joining forces in research, advocacy and campaigning is the support Arts Council Malta (ACM) extends to platforms and networks representing the CCIs. One such structure is the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA). It advocates for the CCS, connecting agencies, fostering dialogue, and championing equity. MEIA tackles artists’ rights, in ways that are complementary to efforts by ACM in terms, for instance, of the Charter of the Status of the Artist and pertinent measures of a social, economic and cultural nature. MEIA dedicates resources to its organisational capacity through the hosting of seminars, conferences and other platforms for exchange. Together with the Malta Producers’ Association (MPA), it has advocated for a rate card establishing standardised remuneration guidelines for the CCIs.
MEIA, MPA, the Malta Community of Illustrators and other individual members and Public Cultural Organisations (PCOs) were the first members of the Sectoral Representative Working Group established by ACM to obtain advice in a structured, regular way from representatives of the CCS.
ACM has collaborated with In Place of War in running the CASE programme focusing on capacity building, knowledge and skills that enable opportunities for growth and support creative practitioners in their professional practice. The programme is open to Maltese creatives or those living and working in Malta. The CASE programme is an international training and development programme for creative practitioners using social enterprise methods, developed through long-term collaboration with leading grass-roots cultural organisations from around the world. It is certified by the University of Manchester, UK.
Dedicated incubation or business acceleration services catering specifically for the creative subsectors do not yet exist in the Maltese islands. Generalpurpose incubators such as the Kordin Business Incubation Centre (KBIC) and the Centre for Entrepreneurship & Business Incubation at the University of Malta are available but are not tailored to the creative sectors.. The Valletta Design Cluster provides co-working spaces and makers spaces for cultural operators at very affordable rates but is not intended as an incubation centre. Earlier in 2023, INDIS Malta launched the Ta’ Qali Incubation centre which, based on publicly available information, is merely providing spaces for workshops. The National Cultural Policy (NCP 2021) does not mention business incubation. However, ACM Strategy 2025 introduced the need for incubators, while Strategy 2030 supports more research into creative hubs and spaces. ACM’s Creative Innovators and Platforms Fund (CIP), which replaced the earlier Creative Industries Platform, provides a phased incubation pathway – from seed research grants through capacity building to three-year operational funding – partially addressing this gap.
Currently, creatives wishing to develop their practice and ideas into monetiseable products and services can access support services offered by structures and entities geared towards traditional businesses. Local creatives have expressed frustration at their inability to engage successfully with these entities. This may be related to a lack of know-how in navigating these channels. Indeed, entities and structures’ understanding of CCS is often limited and reductive. Much advocacy work is done in this regard by ACM.
Entities like Malta Enterprise, Business Enhance, Trade Malta and INDIS are traditionally geared towards bigger industries such as manufacturing, pharma, IT and tech, and financial services and may feel remote to creatives. This, in part, is also because CCIs are rarely featured as strategic priority areas for these entities. This does not create a welcoming climate for cultural operators. This includes operators engaged in tech-intensive businesses such as gaming, film or CGI (computer-generated imagery).
There still is a lacuna in creative entrepreneurship that may be hindering the development and growth of the entire sector. While other strategies aimed to alleviate and address this need, such as an Artist in Residence programmes and job shadowing, do exist, Malta still lacks the development of structures where operators can acquire entrepreneurial skills, research and develop new products and services, establishing a business incubation programme for CCIs that allows for a more structured, focused and equitable access to such resources.
There have not been major changes with regard to employment and other economic indicators. While, on the one hand, this scenario may indicate limited improvement, on the other, the resilience shown by the CCIs, in no small part related to the support provided by the state primarily via ACM, amidst and following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the general tough economic climate, particularly following war in the Ukraine and the Middle East, and turbulent US policies towards the EU, attest to strengths inherent to the sector. Malta’s economic stability, stemming in non-CCIs industries, particularly construction, financial services, adult gaming and tourism, has extended its positive impact to the CCIs, especially in relation to the fields of cultural and heritage-oriented tourism, education and research, and spillovers related to the fields of film, music, digitisation, gaming and design. For detailed statistics see here.
As per Eurostat figures published in 2026, cultural employment in Malta reached the figure of 16,800 persons in 2025, up from 15,700 persons in 2024 and 9,400 persons in 2016. This represents an increase of 1,100 persons (+7.0%) over the past year and 7,400 persons (+78.7%) since 2016, pointing to sustained long-term growth in the cultural and creative sectors. In broad terms, cultural employment accounts for approximately 5% (5.1%) of Malta’s total employment, based on the Labour Force Survey employment levels of around 337,000 persons. While this estimate should be treated as indicative, it demonstrates that cultural activities constitute an important component of Malta’s labour market.
The largest component of cultural employment in 2025 was classified as “Other NACE activities”, employing 6,800 persons, followed by:
- Printing and reproduction of recorded media: 1,900 persons
- Advertising and market research: 1,600 persons
- Other professional, scientific and technical activities: 1,600 persons
- Creative, arts and entertainment activities: 1,400 persons
- Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities: 1,100 persons
- Programming and broadcasting activities: 900 persons
- Motion picture, video, television and music activities: 800 persons.
A notable feature of the data is that a substantial share of cultural employment is recorded outside traditionally recognised cultural industries. This reflects a wider trend whereby creative and cultural occupations are increasingly found across different sectors of the economy, extending the contribution of cultural skills beyond the arts and heritage sectors alone.
The National Cultural Policy (2021) draws on principles of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, to which Malta acceded on 18 December 2006 (entry into force 18 March 2007). . It does so in recognition of the fact that the CCIs are very significant for inclusive economic growth, reducing inequalities and achieving the goals set out in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
At the time of the publication of NCP 2021, the CCIs accounted for 7.9% of total gross value added (GVA), exceeding the direct contribution of the construction and civil engineering sector and the accommodation and food services sector. It also created 12,000 jobs and played a key role in propelling the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by incorporating people-centred values and sustainability across their economic, social and environmental objectives.
The development of the first creative economy strategy in 2012, led to important policy developments that positioned CCIs as pillars of economic development. With new investments directed towards creative start-ups and new policy competences such as design and video games, CCIs managed to perform positively in terms of a developing sector.
Nevertheless, the gaps in the economic performance of different sub-sectors were widening.
Between 2015 and 2017 the CCIs grew. However, by excluding the creative business services sub-sector, the more traditional CCS registered an annual average decline of 4.1%. A more significant and related decline in relative terms was also recorded in the arts.
These developments were, however, reflective of the performance in the film industry, primarily artistic services rendered to the film industry. The decline in the arts did not persist in 2017 when the sub-sector registered a strong growth of 19.4% in GVA. This represented the strongest growth among the sub-sectors of the CCIs in that year but only led to a partial recovery following the previous year’s decline. (Economic Policy Department, 2019).
Employment in the CCIs increased by a significant annual average rate of 6.8% over those two years. Notwithstanding the decline in GVA in the arts, the sub-sector registered the strongest growth in employment of 12.0%. The research by the Economic Policy Department at the time (2019) suggested that despite the overall strong performance over the years, the CCIs were yet to mature. There was scope to further strengthen the indirect contribution of the CCIs, particularly the linkages with the various other industries in Malta.
Comments are closed.