Ireland vs Malta
48% dearer than — Ireland against Malta
On national price levels, Ireland is 48% dearer than Malta. Both figures use the United States as 100.
Where the difference actually sits
A single number hides the interesting part. These are the categories Eurostat prices for both countries.
| Category | Ireland | Malta | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall consumption (incl. government-funded services) | 94.6 | 62.4 | +52% |
| Food and non-alcoholic drinks | 114.5 | 112.2 | +2% |
| Bread and cereals | 116.5 | 104.4 | +12% |
| Meat | 99.9 | 98.4 | +2% |
| Fish | 105.2 | 97.9 | +7% |
| Milk, cheese and eggs | 111.2 | 123.5 | -10% |
| Fruit and vegetables | 109.0 | 113.8 | -4% |
| Non-alcoholic drinks | 140.4 | 124.8 | +13% |
| Alcoholic drinks | 197.6 | 125.3 | +58% |
| Tobacco | 258.6 | 83.3 | +210% |
| Clothing and footwear | 100.2 | 101.5 | -1% |
| Housing, water, electricity and fuel | 187.3 | 80.1 | +134% |
| Furnishings and household equipment | 110.8 | 105.3 | +5% |
| Health | 178.7 | 92.8 | +93% |
| Transport | 108.7 | 82.6 | +32% |
| Communication | 139.8 | 106.7 | +31% |
| Recreation and culture | 113.4 | 94.5 | +20% |
| Education | 119.5 | 130.2 | -8% |
| Restaurants and hotels | 129.3 | 88.7 | +46% |
SOURCE·Eurostat — purchasing power parities (prc_ppp_ind)·Price level indices by consumption category, published on an EU27=100 basis and rebased here to US=100. CC BY 4.0.·REVIEWED AUG 2026
Before you use this to decide anything
- These are national averages. Comparing two capital cities is a different question and this data cannot answer it.
- Price level is only half of the decision. What matters is prices relative to what you would earn — see what the job pays in each country on PayLens.
- The figures are indices, not prices. Nothing here is a quote for rent or groceries.
How the price level is worked out
- The World Bank publishes a purchasing power parity for household consumption — how much local currency buys the same basket as one US dollar — and the official market exchange rate for the same year.
- The price level is simply PPP ÷ exchange rate × 100. If a basket needs 1.50 New Zealand dollars per US dollar of purchasing power but the market hands you 1.65 New Zealand dollars for that dollar, New Zealand's prices sit at 1.50 ÷ 1.65 = 91% of the US level.
- Nothing is modelled, smoothed or estimated. You can reproduce every number on this site from two public figures.
- Where Eurostat also publishes a price level for the same country and year, the two are compared and the gap is printed — including when they disagree.
SOURCE·World Bank — International Comparison Program·PPP conversion factor for household final consumption, and the official market exchange rate. CC BY 4.0.·REVIEWED AUG 2026
SOURCE·World Bank ICP PPPs + Eurostat price level indices·price levels derived as PPP ÷ exchange rate, see method·REVIEWED AUG 2026