Malta is the European Union’s noisiest country, with just over 30% of people saying that they suffer from some form of noise pollution. 

A European Commission study into the Sustainable Development in the European Union found that Malta, which is quickly becoming notorious for its neverending construction and traffic issues, tops the list when it comes to noise coming from either street level or neighbours. 

Around 30.8% of people living in Malta said they were suffering from noise pollution, the largest in the EU. On the other end of the spectrum was Estonia, which stood at 8%.

That number has actually increased from 2016, when around 26.5% complained about noise levels, running against the trend of the EU average, which has actually seen complaints drop.

It should be noted that the study was based on the perception of people living in the country and not an actual analysis of noise levels in the country. 

The study did uncover that people with a lower socioeconomic status tend to be disproportionately affected by noise pollution because they often live closest to the source.  Children are also disproportionally affected.

The study found that almost 92.3 million people in EU urban areas suffered because of noise pollution, whether that was from traffic or industry.

Do you suffer because of noise pollution?