Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543288
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 FEBRUARY 2026 NEWS CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 In the €12,000 and under an- nual income category, 27,874 TCNs, representing 34.4% of all non-EU citizens, fall into this bracket. Comparatively, 29.5% of EU workers (13,138 of 44,498) and just 17.2% of Maltese workers (30,242 of 175,859) fall within the lowest brackets. When examining those earn- ing €20,000 or less, three out of every four TCN employees (75.7%, or 61,309 individu- als) are positioned in the bot- tom tiers. By contrast, roughly 47.6% of EU workers and 34.4% of Maltese workers earn below this threshold. While Maltese workers make up the largest numerical group in low-to-mid income brackets due to their overall population size, they are far less likely than TCNs to be confined to these lower annual earnings. At the opposite end of the spectrum, TCN representation falls sharply. Only 1,268 TCNs, or around 1.6% of their work- force, earn more than €60,000 annually. EU citizens are more likely to occupy high-income roles, with 9.6% (4,252 indi- viduals) earning over €60,000 annually, slightly outpacing the 9.1% of Maltese workers (16,071 individuals) in the same bracket. This pattern is even more marked in the €100,001 and over "ultra-high" annual in- come category, where 3.3% of EU employees (1,459 individ- uals) earn above €100,000 an- nually, compared with 2% of Maltese workers (3,592 indi- viduals) and just 0.5% of TCNs (406 individuals). Workers from other EU coun- tries exhibit a polarised income distribution, with a significant presence in both the lowest and highest earning tiers. This reflects the high portion of EU workers in both highly paid jobs in gaming and financial sector and also in more ele- mentary jobs. Median bracket While an exact average salary cannot be calculated from the parliamentary data, the median income bracket and top 10% income threshold provide a clearer picture of typical finan- cial standing. The median Mal- tese employee earns between €27,001 and €28,000 annually, the median EU employee earns between €21,001 and €22,000 annually, and the median TCN employee earns between €14,001 and €15,000 annually, confirming that the typical ex- perience for a Third Country National is to be in the lower income tiers. To be among the top 10% of earners within their respective categories, EU workers must earn approximately €60,001 or more, Maltese workers approx- imately €58,001 or more, while TCN workers need only ap- proximately €30,001 or more, illustrating the stark income gap. These figures highlight a dra- matic disparity. The top 10% of TCN workers earn roughly the same as the median Mal- tese worker, while EU citizens, despite a lower median income than Maltese workers, have a To be a top 10% earner Maltese must Left to right: Finance Minister Clyde Caruana and Nationalist MP Ivan Castillo