Methodology · Transparency
Data Sources & Methodology
How ImaginaMalta collects and presents living services data for Malta and Gozo — sources, quality gates, limitations and what we do not publish.
Primary source: OpenStreetMap
All living services data on this site is derived from OpenStreetMap (OSM) — a free, open geographic database maintained by a global community of volunteers. OSM data is licensed under the Open Database Licence (ODbL 1.0). We do not use Google Maps, proprietary databases or scraped commercial directories.
OSM data reflects what contributors have mapped at a point in time. It is not a verified official directory. Individual records may be outdated, incomplete or incorrectly tagged. We show OSM data as-is with appropriate caveats, and we do not add unverified information.
Attribution: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) · Last data snapshot: 2026-06-20
Datasets
Source: OpenStreetMap (amenity=pharmacy)
Does not include duty pharmacy rosters or live opening status. Not a medical directory.
Source: OpenStreetMap (amenity=clinic, amenity=hospital, amenity=health_centre)
Location data only. Not medical advice. Opening hours and services not verified.
Source: OpenStreetMap (diplomatic=embassy, diplomatic=consulate, diplomatic=high_commission)
Verify with official MFA sources before visiting. Services, appointments and hours change.
Source: OpenStreetMap (leisure=sports_centre, leisure=fitness_centre, leisure=swimming_pool, leisure=pitch, and other sport=* tags)
Large dataset includes many unnamed records. Named venues shown prominently. No fees, membership info or opening hours guaranteed.
Locality assignment
Each OSM record is assigned to one of the 68 canonical Malta/Gozo locality slugs used across ImaginaMalta. Assignment uses a deterministic mapping table covering Maltese article forms (Il-, Is-, Ir- prefixes), uppercase variants, Maltese-language names, and known sub-locality mappings (e.g. Paceville → saint-julian-s, Burmarrad → saint-paul-s-bay). Records with GPS coordinates but no locality name are matched to the nearest locality bounding box. Records that cannot be reliably assigned are excluded from locality pages.
Indexation policy
Locality living pages are only published (indexed) where there is sufficient quality data. The gate requires either ≥2 service categories with records, or one strong category: ≥3 named pharmacies, ≥2 named health centres, ≥1 diplomatic representation, or ≥3 named sports facilities. Unknown or unverified locality assignments are never published.
Individual facility pages are not published for this data layer — OSM-only records without verified editorial content do not meet our quality threshold for standalone indexable pages.
What we do not publish
- Duty pharmacy rosters or live on-call information
- Medical advice, clinical recommendations or health assessments
- Legal advice regarding diplomatic, consular or immigration matters
- Guaranteed opening hours or confirmed service availability
- Membership fees, pricing or booking information for sports facilities
- Staff personal contact details not on an official public page
- Best/cheapest/nearest recommendations as factual claims
- Data scraped from Google Maps or other proprietary sources
Corrections & updates
If you spot an error, the best fix is to update the original OpenStreetMap record — corrections there will flow through to all OSM-derived directories including this one. For significant errors on this site, contact us via the ImaginaMalta website. Last data snapshot: 2026-06-20.