If we’ve never had it so good… how come Maltese people are unhappy?

When there is a lot of moaning and groaning among the populace, we are often chided that “we’ve never had it so good”. 

Materialistically, perhaps, it’s true that we live a lifestyle our parents and grandparents could only dream about.  Dining out is not reserved for just special occasions anymore (try going to a restaurant on the weekend without a reservation and you will be turned away). Coffee shops, even on weekdays, are regularly packed with people who are clearly not in a hurry to be anywhere. And at any time of day, the number of cars driving, driving, driving from one end of the island to another inevitably makes me wonder where they are all going: Doesn’t anyone work at an office anymore? 

Even the type of cars you see on the road, worth tens of thousands, make you go hmmm… In summer, the almighty car makes way for the almighty boat, and again it makes you wonder about all this source of wealth. 

Low-cost airlines mean you can book a getaway at the drop of a hat; gone are the days when you scrimped and saved for one precious holiday a year (if that). And, the ultimate test of a booming economy – just look at supermarkets. Not only is there one in every town and village, but there’s one in every corner, and they are all teeming with shoppers pushing overflowing trolleys. 

As for things to do – the calendar is bursting with events from comedy to dance, concerts and theatre and they all seem to be well-attended. It’s not just leisure activities either which indicate an affluent country. There are waiting lists for expensive private schools, just as there are long lists to see a medical specialist at a private clinic. As we say in Maltese: “Hawn il-flus fl-idejn” (plenty of money in people’s pockets). Either that, or people are killing themselves juggling a number of jobs, and an equal number of credit cards, in an attempt to try and keep up with the Joneses. 

The dichotomy of where we are at in the terms of our well-being cannot be starker. In the latest World Happiness Report published last week, Malta has dropped eight spots to 48th place. I think one way of understanding and interpreting why this is happening is to look at the country which tops the list: Finland. What are they getting right?  For a start, experts cite access to nature and a strong welfare system as factors. We are definitely lacking in nature as we only have our sparse coastline left, until that is hijacked too. Our only break away from all the concrete is to look outwards at the sea towards the horizon, as we dream of our next holiday abroad. 

We too have a strong social welfare system, so where is our dissatisfaction and malaise coming from? 

The answer might be found in the part of the study which carried out a wallet experiment. As reported by the BBC, “It measured trust in strangers by deliberately losing wallets, seeing how many were returned and comparing that with how many people thought would be handed in. The rate of wallets returned was almost twice as high as people predicted and the study, which gathered evidence from around the world, found that belief in the kindness of others was more closely tied to happiness than previously thought.” 

Put simply: If you think people are intrinsically kind, you are a happier person. If you go around in a constant dark cloud of mistrust, eyeing everyone with suspicion (hello Malta?), your happiness levels plummet. 

John F. Helliwell, an economist at the University of British Columbia and a founding editor of the report, said the wallet experiment data showed "people are much happier living where they think people care about each other".  The 2025 World Happiness Report also found that a lack of social trust can explain the rise in political polarisation, which again ties in with our poor ranking. 

So, what other factors foster a sense of well-being?  According to the data, it’s sharing meals with others and household size. In fact, four to five people living together enjoy the highest levels of happiness in Mexico and Europe. 

In its report, the BBC also quoted Jeffrey D. Sachs, president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, who said the findings have once again confirmed that "happiness is rooted in trust, kindness and social connection". 

Seen in this light, the pieces fall neatly into place. It’s no secret that as a nationality most Maltese are, by nature, mistrustful of “others”. Here I am not just talking about foreigners, but even those who are not within the family circle (and even sometimes within one’s own family circle). The default position always seems to be the lingering belief that a person is “up to something”, that they will “screw you over” and that behind any gesture there is an ulterior motive. It must be exhausting and emotionally depleting to live life in this constant state of high alert that everyone is out to get you, but hence the unhappiness. 

I’ve also always been of the firm conviction that those who always believe that other people are “up to no good” and cannot be trusted are people who, given half a chance would do exactly that – cheat, swindle and con others. If it would never occur to you to cheat, you are more likely to believe others won’t either, and are appalled when they do. But I find that locally, the default position is suspicion and anyone who is truly genuine and trustworthy is dismissed as being fake. How sad is that? 

This mindset of always thinking the worst of others is inextricably linked to what has become a nation-wide insatiable greed. No matter how many material possessions and how much cash they acquire, and no matter how much they splurge and overindulge, they want more.

Whoever stands in their way of obtaining more is cast aside. Good tenants? Who cares, raise their rent and kick them out so you can get more out of the next lot. Loyal employees? Who cares, fire them so you can employ inexperienced staff from a third-world country at a lower bargain rate.

Even personal relationships have become a game of "what can I get out of this?" Men bumming off successful women who own their own property; women eyeing men as their personal ATM machine. Adult children ignoring their ailing, elderly parents as they salivate over the possibility of an imminent inheritance. To paraphrase the song, it’s not love which is all around us, but greed – and so the feeling grows. 

And yes, greed breeds more greed. Children who are born and raised in families where all they talk about is money and how to get even more, are already conditioned to make these pieces of paper their god. 

We are living in a society where materialism has taken over everything. Weddings have become transactional (expecting an x amount in monetary gifts to cover how much it cost); gender reveals, lavish birthday parties, Holy Communion… every occasion and milestone is like an expensive Hollywood-like production to be posted on Instagram. But scratch the surface and you will find that the smiles are forced and the gushing description of what should be a happy, intimate day is as artificial as anything concocted by the Kardashians. 

It is significant that in Finland they have a less materialistic mindset. Some Finnish experts point to the unity and trust that came out of the Russo-Finnish War in 1939-1940: “They didn’t win that war, but what they did is they came together and realised even against overwhelming power they could do remarkably well.” 

Malta too lived through a war, and at the time people pulled together against a common enemy. So, what happened to that sense of camaraderie and unity? It seems to me that they were lost along the way as the country’s economy grew, and in their place, came a sense of privilege and entitlement. 

The irony is that, as a result, we have ended up becoming a relatively well-off, but deeply unhappy nation. 

Come on Malta, forget trying to emulate Dubai – what we need is to be more like Finland.