Fewer Maltese aged 16+ attended cultural or sports events than the EU average in 2015 - Eurostat

Cultural and sports attendance seems to be closely linked to level of education

While two-thirds (66.5%) of the population aged 16 or over in the European Union (EU) went to at least one cultural or sports event in 2015, only 54.6% of the Maltese population attended such events, according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office.

This means that Malta was below the EU average in this regard.

From an EU standpoint, “one in three EU citizens did not go to the cinema, visit a cultural site or museum and did not attend a live performance or sporting event,” the Eurostat news release read.

“Across the EU Member States in 2015, over 80% of the population aged 16 or over in Sweden (88.8%), the Netherlands (86.5%), Denmark (86.1%) and Finland (84.6%), ahead of Luxembourg (82.7%) and France (80.5%), attended, at least once, a cultural or sporting event. Around threequarters of the population reported this in Austria (77.9%), the United Kingdom (77.3%), Germany and Ireland (both 77.2%) as well as the Czech Republic (75.6%). At the opposite end of the scale, less than a third of the population attended a cultural or sporting event in Romania (29.6%) and Bulgaria (32.0%), followed at a distance by Croatia (43.7%) and Italy (49.6%),” Eurostat read.

According to the Eurostat article, with reference to the EU as a whole: “Cultural and sports attendance seems to be closely linked to level of education as the proportion of those who go to a cultural or sports event increases along with their educational level. While less than half (45.4%) of those aged 16 or over with a low education level (at most lower secondary education) participated at least once in any cultural or sports event in 2015, this share increased to 70.2% for those with a medium education level and reached 87.5% when it came to those in the population with a high education level (tertiary education). This general correlation between a person’s educational level and their attendance at cultural or sports events can be seen for both types of events. However, it is slightly more pronounced for attendance at cultural events.”

The information on Eurostat did not include information as to what constitutes a cultural or sports event or how the statistics were compiled. In contrast to these statistics, according to new statistics on cultural participation in 2016 released by Arts Council Malta, 91% of Malta’s adult population participated in a cultural activity in 2016.