Malta online in numbers: what NSO data for 2024 and 2025 means for local businesses
96% of people aged 16–74 in Malta used the internet in 2025, almost all of them on a phone, and almost half of internet users had tried generative AI. We read the National Statistics Office releases so you don't have to.
By ND Web Design, web design agency in Malta
Malta dataUpdated 6 min read
Every year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) surveys how people and businesses in Malta use the internet. The numbers rarely make headlines, but for anyone running a business here they answer a very practical question: where are my customers, and how are they deciding?
We read through the two most recent releases available when we wrote this: ICT Usage by Households: 2025 (NR 037/2026, published 4 March 2026) and ICT Usage and e-Commerce in Enterprises: 2024 (NR 014/2025, published 24 January 2025). Here is what they say, and what we think it means.
- 96.0% of people aged 16–74 in Malta used the internet in 2025, above the EU-27 average.
- 98.6% of internet users went online with a mobile device.
- Almost half of internet users had used generative AI tools such as chatbots.
- 279,006 people bought or ordered online during the year.
- 78.3% of Maltese businesses' web-sales turnover came through their own website or apps.
Almost everyone is online, and Malta has overtaken the EU
Internet use in Malta has climbed steadily for over a decade. In 2014, 73.6% of people aged 16–74 used the internet. By 2025 the figure reached 96.0%, 2.2 percentage points above the EU-27 average of 93.8%.
View the data
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Malta, 2014 | 73.6% |
| Malta, 2025 | 96% |
| EU-27, 2025 | 93.8% |
The NSO updated its weighting method for this survey in recent years, so treat small year-to-year movements with care; the long-term direction is not in doubt.
Every person aged 16 to 44 in the survey had used the internet in the previous three months. Even among people aged 65–74, the least connected group, 76.9% were regular users. And 98.9% of users went online every day.
What it means: "my customers aren't online" is no longer true for any age group. Whether you run a hardware store in Qormi or a law firm in Valletta, the people choosing you will look you up first.
The phone is the shop window
The survey found 98.6% of internet users went online with a mobile device. That single number should shape how every Maltese business thinks about its website.
What it means: your site is judged on a small screen, often on mobile data, often in a hurry. If prices, opening hours, a menu or a booking button take more than a couple of taps to find, people leave. When we do mobile-first website design, the phone layout is not a smaller copy of the desktop. It is designed first.
Generative AI is already mainstream, especially among younger customers
For the first time, the survey asked about generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. Almost half of internet users aged 16–74 had used them in 2025. The age gap is striking:
View the data
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Aged 16–24 | 76.4% |
| Aged 65–74 | 12.5% |
Across all internet users aged 16–74, the NSO reports that almost half used these tools.
What it means (our interpretation): the survey measures whether people use AI tools, not how they choose a supplier, so it does not tell us how many customers ask a chatbot for a recommendation. But with three in four young internet users already using these tools, it is reasonable to expect more questions like "who can fix my aircon in Mosta?" to be asked of an assistant as well as of Google. Being easy for those assistants to understand is a sensible, low-cost precaution. We cover how in How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI.
279,006 people in Malta shop online
The survey counted 279,006 internet users who bought or ordered goods or services online in 2025, 65.1% of internet users. Most were younger: 70.9% of e-commerce users were aged 16–44.
What it means: buying online is a normal habit, not a niche. If people can order from you only by sending a message and waiting for a reply, some of them will buy somewhere they can check out in a minute. That is the gap an online shop customers can use closes.
Businesses: your own website still does the selling
The enterprise survey covers companies with ten or more employees. In 2024:
- 97.9% of these enterprises used the internet.
- The share of enterprises selling through e-commerce was almost 11 percentage points above the EU-27 average, and up 2.1 points on 2023.
- Total e-commerce turnover reached €2.9 billion.
The detail we find most useful is where those web sales happened:
View the data
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Own website or apps | 78.3% |
| Marketplaces and other platforms | 21.7% |
What it means: marketplaces have their place, but almost four in every five euros of web sales came through businesses' own websites and apps. Your own site is where you control the experience, keep the margin and own the customer relationship.
Trust is earned on the page
Two smaller findings matter for anyone collecting customer details online. 55.5% of internet users limited access to their profiles or checked a website's security before giving personal data, and almost 30% used anti-tracking software.
What it means: people notice the basics: a secure connection, a clear privacy policy, a cookie choice that respects a "no", and a contact form that only asks for what it needs.
Five things to do with these numbers
- Open your website on your phone, on mobile data. Time how long it takes to find your prices, hours or booking button.
- Check your Google Business Profile is complete and correct. It is often the first thing people see. If it isn't showing at all, our guide to why a business isn't showing on Google walks through the checks.
- Ask an AI assistant about your business. Try "who offers [your service] in [your town]?" and see whether you appear and whether the details are right.
- Make buying or booking possible without a conversation. Even a simple enquiry form or online booking beats "DM us for prices".
- Show you take data seriously. HTTPS, a short form and an honest privacy policy cost little and build trust.
Sources
- National Statistics Office Malta, ICT Usage by Households: 2025, NR 037/2026, 4 March 2026. nso.gov.mt
- National Statistics Office Malta, ICT Usage and e-Commerce in Enterprises: 2024, NR 014/2025, 24 January 2025. nso.gov.mt
The household survey covered people aged 16–74 living in private households, with 1,725 questionnaires collected between April and June 2025. The enterprise survey covers enterprises with ten or more employees. Percentages keep the population the NSO used: "people" means everyone aged 16–74; "internet users" means only those who went online. We will update this article when newer releases are published.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of people in Malta use the internet?
According to the NSO, 96.0% of people aged 16–74 used the internet in 2025, compared with an EU-27 average of 93.8%.
How many people in Malta shop online?
The NSO counted 279,006 internet users who engaged in e-commerce in 2025, equal to 65.1% of internet users. Most (70.9%) were aged 16–44.
How many people in Malta use AI tools like ChatGPT?
Almost half of internet users aged 16–74 used generative AI tools in 2025, rising to 76.4% among 16–24-year-olds and falling to 12.5% among 65–74-year-olds.
TopicsMaltaNSOStatisticsE-commerceAI
Related searches: Malta internet usage statistics, NSO Malta ICT 2025, Malta e-commerce statistics, digital Malta 2025, online shopping Malta
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