Workplace accidents remain high in Malta despite slight decline – construction still tops risk list

Malta recorded 1,073 non-fatal workplace accidents during the second half of 2025, a slight decrease of 30 cases compared to the same period a year earlier, yet the latest figures show that high-risk sectors continue to dominate injury statistics, raising ongoing questions around workplace safety and productivity.

According to newly published data, the construction sector remained the most accident-prone industry, accounting for 15.5 per cent of all reported non-fatal workplace injuries, followed closely by manufacturing at 14.4 per cent. Human health and social work activities and transport and storage each represented just over 10 per cent of cases.

The data shows that workers in physically demanding roles continue to face the highest risk. Almost 29 per cent of all accidents involved people in elementary occupations, while craft and related trades workers accounted for a further 21.1 per cent.

This trend reflects Malta’s labour profile, where sectors such as construction, logistics and manufacturing remain central to economic activity, but also highlights the persistent challenge of improving occupational safety standards in industries reliant on manual labour.

Workers aged 25 to 34 represented the largest share of accident victims, accounting for 26.6 per cent of cases, while nearly 70 per cent of those involved were Maltese nationals.

Beyond the human impact, the figures underline a direct operational cost for businesses. Nearly 30 per cent of injured workers were absent from work for between seven and 13 days.

Back injuries were the most common, making up more than 30 per cent of cases, while wounds and superficial injuries remained the leading type of injury overall.

Larger organisations were not immune. More than a quarter of accidents occurred in companies employing between 50 and 249 workers, while another quarter took place in enterprises with over 500 employees, suggesting that scale alone does not guarantee safer environments.

While non-fatal accidents dipped slightly, fatalities moved in the opposite direction. Five fatal workplace accidents were recorded between July and December 2025, contributing to a total of nine deaths for the year.

This pushed Malta’s fatal workplace accident incidence rate to 2.7 per 100,000 workers, more than double the rate recorded in 2024.

Construction again featured prominently among fatal incidents, alongside agriculture and sectors linked to wholesale, transport and hospitality.