Malta’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign investment has continued to improve, with 81% of investors viewing the country positively, according to this year’s EY’s Malta Attractiveness Survey.The latest findings mark the second consecutive year of strong growth in investor confidence, with Malta recording its highest attractiveness rating since 2016.According to the survey, 81% of respondents believe Malta is currently an attractive destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), up from 79% in 2025 and 54% in 2024.This represents a remarkable 27-percentage-point increase in just two years.The results also show that only 13% of investors currently consider Malta unattractive, down from 15% last year and 25% in 2024.Meanwhile, 6% of respondents said they were unsure.The latest figures represent a significant recovery from 2021, when investor sentiment reached its lowest point in the period covered by the survey.That year, just 37% of respondents considered Malta attractive for foreign investment, while 46% believed the opposite.Investor confidence subsequently recovered to 58% in 2022 and 59% in 2023, before dipping slightly to 54% in 2024.However, the sharp improvement recorded over the past two years has brought Malta close to its historical highs.In 2016, the country recorded an attractiveness rating of 87%, the highest figure shown in the survey’s data stretching back to 2014.The latest survey also indicates that nine out of ten companies intend to maintain or expand their operations in Malta over the coming year, suggesting that existing investors remain committed to the country.Artificial intelligence has also emerged as a major area of potential growth, with 59% of investors identifying AI as a sector expected to drive Malta’s economy, compared to 47% last year.AI was also identified as the sector with the greatest potential for long-term growth.The findings were presented during the EY Future Realised conference, where discussions focused on Malta’s investment climate, economic competitiveness and future growth opportunities.Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Robert Abela welcomed the results, arguing that they demonstrated continued international confidence in Malta’s economy.He also highlighted the government’s €100 million commitment to digital transformation and its plans to strengthen Malta’s position in emerging technological sectors.The survey comes as Malta looks to shift towards an economic model increasingly focused on productivity, innovation and higher-value investment.While the findings point to a substantial improvement in investor sentiment, they also highlight how dramatically perceptions of Malta’s investment climate have fluctuated over the past decade.For now, however, the latest figures suggest that Malta has regained much of the confidence it lost in previous years, with more than eight in ten investors once again viewing the country as an attractive place to do business.What do you make of this percentage increase?•