Malta

The country's capital is Valletta. The world's tenth-smallest country by area, the ninth-most densely populated, and the 166th most populated. The country consists of a single urban region, for which it is often described as a city-state. The island of Malta has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, during the Mesolithic period. Its location in the centre of the Mediterranean has historically given it great geostrategic importance, with multiple powers having ruled the islands and shaped its culture and society. These include the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans in antiquity; the Arabs, Normans, and Aragonese during the Middle Ages; and the Knights Hospitaller, French, and British in the modern era. Malta came under British rule in the early 19th century and served as the headquarters for the British Mediterranean Fleet. It was sieged by the Axis powers during World War II and was an Allied base for its area. Malta gained independence in 1964, and established its current parliamentary republic in 1974. It has been a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations since its independence, and it joined the European Union in 2004 and the eurozone monetary union in 2008. History of foreign rule and its proximity to both Europe and North Africa have influenced its art, music, cuisine, and architecture. Malta has close historical and cultural ties to Italy and especially to the island of Sicily, with 66% of Maltese people speaking or having significant knowledge of the Italian language. An early centre of Christianity, and Catholicism is the state religion, although the country's constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Now a developed country with an advanced, high-income economy. It is heavily reliant on tourism, attracting travellers with its warm climate, recreational areas, and architectural and historical monuments.

• Conventional Long Name — Republic of Malta • Common Name — Malta • Native Name — Repubblika ta' Malta • Coa Size — 90 • National Motto — Virtute et constantia "By strength and persistence" • National Anthem — L-Innu Malti "The Maltese Hymn" • Capital — Valletta • Largest Settlement — St. Paul's Bay • Largest Settlement Type — settlement • Official Languages — * Maltese • English • Maltese Sign Language • National Languages — Maltese • Languages Type — Other languages • Languages — Italian (66% conversational) • Ethnic Groups — * 77.7% Maltese • 22.3% other ethnic groups • Ethnic Groups Year — 2021 • Demonym — Maltese • Government Type — Unitary parliamentary republic • Religion — * 88.5% Christianity • 82.6% Catholicism (official) • 5.9% other Christian • 5.1% no religion • 3.9% Islam • 1.4% Hinduism • 1.1% other • Religion Year — 2021 • Leader Title1 — President • Leader Name1 — Myriam Spiteri Debono • Leader Title2 — Prime Minister • Leader Name2 — Robert Abela • Legislature — Parliament of Malta • Sovereignty Type — Independence • Sovereignty Note — from the United Kingdom • Established Event1 — State of Malta • Established Date1 — 21 September 1964 • Established Event2 — Republic • Established Date2 — 13 December 1974 • Area Km2 — 316 • Area Rank — 187th • Area Sq Mi — 122 • Percent Water — 0.001 • Population Census — 588,254 • Population Estimate Rank — 167th • Population Census Year — 2025 • Population Density Km2 — 1,649 • Population Density Sq Mi — 4,270 • Population Density Rank — 9th • Gdp Ppp — $36.870 billion • Gdp Ppp Year — 2024 • Gdp Ppp Rank — 140th • Gdp Ppp Per Capita — $67,682 • Gdp Ppp Per Capita Rank — 20th • Gdp Nominal — $22.737 billion • Gdp Nominal Year — 2024 • Gdp Nominal Rank — 118th • Gdp Nominal Per Capita — $41,738 • Gdp Nominal Per Capita Rank — 25th • Gini — 31.4 • Gini Year — 2020 • Gini Change — increase • Hdi Year — 2023 • Hdi Change — increase • Hdi — 0.924 • Hdi Rank — 24th • Currency — Euro (€) • Currency Code — EUR • Time Zone — CET • Utc Offset — +1 • Time Zone Dst — CEST • Utc Offset Dst — +2 • Calling Code — +356 • Patron Saints — Paul the Apostle, Saint Publius, and Agatha of Sicily • Cctld —.mt • Footnote A — 2021 Malta census Chapter 4: Racial Origin according to the most recent national census. Meanwhile 77.8% of the population were Maltese citizens or nationals. • Footnote B — Also.eu, shared with other European Union member states

The English name Malta derives from classical Latin Melita, from Latinised forms of the ancient Greek Melítē (Μελίτη), of uncertain meaning, possibly from the Phoenician Maleth. The name Melítēshared by the Croatian island Mljet in antiquityliterally means "place of honey" or "place of sweetness", derived from the combining form of méli (μέλι, "honey" or any similarly sweet thing) and the suffix -ē (-η). The ancient Greeks may have named the island this after Malta's endemic subspecies of bees. Alternatively, other scholars argue for derivation of the Greek name from an original Phoenician or Punic Maleth (𐤌𐤋𐤈, mlṭ), meaning "haven", "refuge" or "port", in reference to the Grand Harbour and its primary settlement at Cospicua following the sea level rise that separated the Maltese islands and flooded their original coastal settlements in the 10th centuryBC. The name was then applied to all of Malta by the Greeks and to its ancient capital by the Romans.

Malta was first inhabited starting in 8000- 6500 BC, with the arrival of Mesolithic era hunter-gatherers, which likely came from Sicily. Neolithic farmers, also originating from Sicily, are thought to have arrived on the islands by around 5400 BC. Prehistoric settlements dating to the Early Neolithic include the Għar Dalam cave site in the uppermost layers associated with domesticated animals. The Neolithic population on Malta grew cereals, raised livestock and, like many other European civilizations, worshipped a mother goddess. • Illustration — Ġgantija, a megalithic temple complex. Later, the people of Malta started to build megalithic temples. Around 3500 BC, these people built some of the oldest existing free-standing structures in the world in the form of the Ġgantija temples on Gozo. Other early temples include those at Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra. These temples are the oldest free standing megalithic structures in the world, made before the Egyptian pyramids. After 2500 BC, Malta was depopulated for multiple decades until an influx of Bronze Age immigrants, a culture that cremated its dead and introduced smaller structures called dolmens as tombs. They likely belonged to a population different from that which built the previous temples. It is presumed the population arrived from Sicily due to the similarity of Maltese dolmens to small constructions there.

• Illustration — The lands which make modern-day Malta were a part of the Byzantine Empire (its vassals in pink) Phoenician traders colonised the islands under the name Ann (𐤀𐤍𐤍) after 1000 BC as a stop on their trade routes from the eastern Mediterranean to the Strait of Gibraltar. Their seat of government was at Mdina, and their primary port was at Cospicua on the Grand Harbour, which they called Maleth. After the fall of Phoenicia in 332 BC, the area came under the control of Carthage. During this time, the people of Malta mostly produced olives, carob, and textiles. • Illustration — Roman mosaic from the Domvs Romana During the First Punic War, the island was conquered by Roman general Marcus Atilius Regulus. After the failure of his expedition, the island returned to Carthaginian control, only to be conquered again during the Second Punic War in 218 BC by Tiberius Sempronius Longus, a Roman consul. Malta became a Foederata Civitas, meaning it was exempted from tribute, and fell within the jurisdiction of the Roman province of Sicily. Its capital was renamed Melita after the Greek and Roman name for the island. Punic influence, however, remained on the islands. Local Roman coinage, which ceased in the first century BC, indicates the slow pace of the island's Romanisation: the last locally minted coins bear inscriptions in Ancient Greek and Punic motifs, showing Maltese resistance of the Greek and Roman cultures. The Roman period also introduced highly decorative mosaic floors. In 395, when the Roman Empire was divided for the last time at the death of Theodosius I, Malta and Sicily fell under the control of the Western Roman Empire. As the Western Roman Empire declined during the Migration Period, Malta was conquered or occupied a number of times. In 454, the islands were subdued by the Vandals and the Ostrogoths, Germanic tribes, in 464. In 533, Belisarius, an Byzantine general, and his army went to conquer the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, and reunited the islands under Byzantine rule. Little is known about Byzantine Malta: the island depended on the theme of Sicily and had Greek governors and a small Greek garrison. While the bulk of population continued consist of the old Latinized dwellers, Malta's religious allegiance oscillated between the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople. The Byzantine rule introduced Greek families to the Maltese collective. Malta remained under the Byzantine Empire until 870, when it was conquered by the Arabs.

Malta became involved in the Arab–Byzantine wars, and the conquest of Malta is linked with the Muslim conquest of Sicily that began in 827 after Admiral Euphemius killed Constantine V. The Muslim chronicler and geographer Ibn ʿAbd al-Munʿim al-Ḥimyarī recounts that, in 870, following a violent struggle against the defending Byzantines, the Arab invaders, first led by Halaf al-Hadim and later by Sawada ibn Muhammad, pillaged the island, destroying the most important buildings and leaving it practically uninhabited until it was recolonized by the Arabs from Sicily in 1048–1049. Malta would be a settlement for Banu Matkud, a vassalised tribal city state of the Berbers, from Misrata during both Fatimid Caliphate and the Aghlabid dynasty. It is uncertain whether this new settlement resulted from demographic expansion in Sicily, a higher standard of living in Sicily, or the civil war that broke out among the rulers of Sicily in 1038. The Arab Agricultural Revolution introduced new irrigation, cotton, and some fruits. The Siculo-Arabic language was adopted on the island from Sicily, and it eventually evolved into the Maltese language.

• Illustration — Roger I of Sicily returned Malta to Christian rule. The Normans attacked Malta in 1091, as part of their conquest of Sicily. Their leader, Roger I of Sicily, was welcomed by the Christians. Malta became part of the new Kingdom of Sicily, which also covered the southern Italian Peninsula. The Catholic Church was reinstated as the state religion, with Malta under the Archdiocese of Palermo, and some Norman architecture sprang up around Malta, especially in its previous capital, Mdina. King Tancred made Malta a fief and installed a Count of Malta in 1192. The islands were desired due to their strategic importance, so it was during this time the men of Malta were militarized to fend off attempted conquest. Early Counts were Genoese privateers. The kingdom passed on to the Hohenstaufen German dynasty from 1194 until 1266. As Emperor Frederick II began to reorganise the Sicilian kingdom, Western culture and religion started to exert their influence more intensely. Malta was declared a county and a marquisate, but its trade was destroyed. For a long time it solely remained a fortified garrison. A mass expulsion of Arabs occurred in 1224, and the entire Christian male population of Celano, Italy in Abruzzo was deported to Malta in the same year. In 1249 Frederick II decreed that all remaining Muslims be expelled from Malta or compelled to convert. In 1266, the kingdom passed to the Capetian House of Anjou, but high taxes made the dynasty unpopular in Malta, due in part to Charles of Anjou's war against the Republic of Genoa, and the island of Gozo was sacked in 1275.

• Illustration — Flag of the Kingdom of Sicily • Illustration — Map of Malta and Gozo produced by Dutch cartographer Nicolaes Visscher II around 1690 Malta was ruled by the House of Barcelona, the ruling dynasty of the Crown of Aragon, from 1282 to 1409, with Aragon aiding Malta in the Sicilian Vespers in the naval battle in Grand Harbour in 1283. Relatives of the crown ruled the island until it formally passed to the Crown of Aragon. Early in the Aragonese ascendancy, the sons of the monarchs received the title Count of Malta. During this time much of the local nobility was created, though by 1397, the bearing of the comital title reverted to a feudal basis, with two families fighting over the distinction. This led King Martin I of Sicily to abolish the title, which returned a few years later. The Maltese, led by the local nobility, rose up against Count Gonsalvo Monroy, though they voiced their loyalty to the Sicilian Crown, which impressed King Alfonso V of Aragon enough that he didn't punish Malta, and chose never to grant the title to a third party, moving it back under control of the crown. On 23 March 1530, Charles V gave the islands to the Knights Hospitaller under the leadership of Frenchman Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, for which they had to pay an annual tribute of a Maltese Falcon. These knights, a military religious order also known as the Order of Saint John and later as the Knights of Malta, had been driven out of Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire in 1522. The Knights ruled Malta until 1798. During this period, the strategic and military importance of the island grew as the efficient fleet of the Knights of Malta launched their attacks from this new base targeting the shipping lanes of the Ottoman territories around the Mediterranean Sea. • Illustration — Ottoman attack on the post of the Castilian knights on 21 August 1565 The knights, led by Frenchman Jean Parisot de Valette, withstood the Siege of Malta by the Ottomans in 1565. The knights, with the help of Portuguese, Spanish and Maltese forces, repelled the attack. After the siege, they decided to increase Malta's fortifications, particularly in the inner-harbour area, where the new city of Valletta was built.

• Illustration — Bust of Bonaparte at Palazzo Parisio in Valletta The Knights' reign ended when Napoleon captured Malta on his way to Egypt during the French Revolutionary Wars in 1798. During 12–18 June 1798, Napoleon resided at the Palazzo Parisio in Valletta. He reformed Maltese administration with the creation of a Government Commission, twelve municipalities, a public finance administration, the abolition of feudal rights and slavery, and freedom to all Turkish and Jewish slaves. On the judicial level, a family code was framed and twelve judges were nominated. Public education was organised along principles set by Bonaparte, providing for primary and secondary education. He then sailed for Egypt, leaving a substantial garrison in Malta. The French forces left behind became unpopular with the Maltese, mainly due to them being anti-Catholic. French financial and religious policies angered the Maltese enough that they rebelled, forcing the French to depart. Great Britain, along with Naples and Sicily, sent ammunition and aid to the Maltese, and Britain also sent a navy, which blockaded the islands. On 28 October 1798, Captain Alexander Ball completed negotiations with the French garrison on Gozo for a transfer of Malta to the British. The British transferred the island to the locals that day, and it was administered by Archpriest Saverio Cassar on behalf of Ferdinand III of Sicily. Gozo remained independent until Cassar was removed by the British in 1801. General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois surrendered his French forces in 1800. Maltese leaders gave the main island to Alexander Ball, asking that the island become a British Dominion. The Maltese people created a Declaration of Rights in which they agreed to come "under the protection and sovereignty of the King of the free people, His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland".

• Illustration — The bomb-damaged Kingsway (now Republic Street) in Valletta during the siege of Malta, 1942 In 1814, as part of the Treaty of Paris, Malta officially became a part of the British Empire. Between 1915 and 1918, during World War I, Malta became known as the Nurse of the Mediterranean due to the large number of wounded soldiers who were accommodated there. On 7 June 1919, the Maltese public rioted in response to a cost-of-living crisis, but British troops eventually managed to suppress the riots with four fatalities. The event, known as Giugno, is commemorated every year and is one of five National Days. Until World War II, Maltese politics was dominated by the Language Question. Before World War II, Valletta was the location of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean fleet headquarters; however, despite Winston Churchill's objections, the command was moved to Alexandria, Egypt, in 1937 out of fear that it was too susceptible to air attacks from Europe. During the war, Malta played an important role for the Allies; being a British colony, situated close to Sicily and the Axis shipping lanes, Malta was bombarded by the Italian and German air forces. Malta was used by the British to launch attacks on the Italian Navy and had a submarine base. It was also used as a listening post, intercepting German radio messages including Enigma traffic. The Maltese defence during the second siege of Malta moved King George VI to award the George Cross to Malta on a collective basis on 15 April 1942. Some historians argue that the award caused Britain to incur disproportionate losses in defending Malta, as British credibility would have suffered if Malta had surrendered, as was done during the Battle of Singapore. A depiction of the George Cross now appears on the Flag of Malta and the country's coat of arms.

• Illustration — Monument to the independence of Malta in Floriana Malta gained independence as the State of Malta on 21 September 1964. Under its 1964 constitution, Malta initially retained Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta and therefore head of state, with a governor-general exercising executive authority on her behalf. In 1971, the Malta Labour Party led by Dom Mintoff won the general elections, resulting in Malta declaring itself a republic on 13 December 1974 within the Commonwealth. A defence agreement was signed soon after, and after being re-negotiated in 1972, expired on 31 March 1979 (Freedom Day). Upon its expiry, the British base closed and lands formerly controlled by the British were given to the Maltese government. After the departure of the remaining British troops in 1979, the country intensified its participation in the Non-Aligned Movement. Malta adopted a policy of neutrality in 1980. In that same year, three of Malta's sites, including the capital Valletta, were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In 1989, Malta was the venue of a summit between George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, which precluded the end of the Cold War. A referendum on joining the European Union was held on 8 March 2003, with 53.65% in favour. Malta joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 and the eurozone on 1 January 2008.

• Illustration — Satellite photo of Maltese islands Malta is an archipelago in the central Mediterranean (in its eastern basin), some 80 km from southern Italy across the Malta Channel. Only the three largest islands—Malta, Gozo, and Comino—are inhabited. The islands of the archipelago lie on the Malta plateau, a shallow shelf formed from the high points of a land bridge between Sicily and North Africa that became isolated as sea levels rose after the last ice age. The archipelago is located on the African tectonic plate. Malta is the largest island, and is both the easternmost of the three inhabited islands, and the southernmost. It has the highest population, and is the administrative centre of the country. Gozo is the second largest, and is both the northernmost and the westernmost of the three, and is more rural. Comino is the smallest of the inhabited islands, and is in between Gozo and Malta. There are numerous harbours along the indented coastline of the islands. The highest point in Malta is Ta' Dmejrek, at 253 m, near Dingli. Although there are some small rivers at times of high rainfall, there are no permanent rivers or lakes on Malta. However, some watercourses have fresh water running all year round at Baħrija near Ras ir-Raħeb, l-Imtaħleb, and San Martin. Malta has a course, hilly environment. Phytogeographically, Malta belongs to the Liguro-Tyrrhenian province of the Mediterranean region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Malta belongs to the terrestrial ecoregion of Tyrrhenian–Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests.

Malta's climate is Mediterranean (Köppen climate classification Csa), with mild winters and warm summers. Rain occurs mainly in autumn and winter. The average temperature is around 19 C, with 23 C during the day and 15 C at night. In the coldest month, January, the typical maximum temperature ranges from around 15 C during the day and minimum 9 C at night. In the warmest month, August, the typical maximum temperature ranges from around 31 C during the day and 22 C at night. In March and December average temperatures are around 17 C during the day and 11 C at night. Snow is rare, although it has occurred. The average annual sea temperature is 20 C, from 15 C in February to 26 C in August. In the six months from June to November, the average sea temperature exceeds 20 C. The annual average relative humidity is high, averaging 75%, ranging from 65% in July to 80% in December. Sunshine duration hours total around 3,000 per year, from an average 5.2 hours of sunshine duration per day in December to an average above 12 hours in July.

Over the past century in Malta, temperatures have increased by 1.4 C-change, and the surface temperature of the sea has increased a total of 2 C-change. There has also been rising water and flooding of land and infrastructure. Malta produces about 4.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per person, one of the lowest per capita values in Europe. There has been a long-term drying trend, with the average annual rainfall between 2008 and 2024 being 17 percent lower than that between 1940 and 2024.

• Illustration — The main urban area of Malta. Valletta is the central peninsula. According to Eurostat, Malta is composed of two larger urban zones nominally referred to as "Valletta" (the main island of Malta) and "Gozo". The main urban area covers the entire main island. The core of the urban area, the greater city of Valletta, has a population of 205,768. According to the data from 2020 by Eurostat, the metropolitan region covered the whole island and has a population of 480,134. According to the United Nations, about 95 percent of the area of Malta is urban and the number grows every year. According to ESPON and EU Commission studies, "the whole territory of Malta constitutes a single urban region". Malta, with area of 316 km2, is one of the most densely populated countries worldwide. It is sometimes referred to as a city-state, but sometimes is ranked as a city or a metropolitan area.

• Illustration — Saint Patrick’s Street in Valletta Valetta has been the capital of Malta since 1570. It was built after the Ottoman invasion of Malta in 1565. When the Knights Hospitaller were removed by the French, Maltese revolt led the British to seize Valetta. It was bombed repeatedly during World War II, and was where Italy surrendered.

Saint Paul's Bay is the most populous council in Malta. Remains of beehouses, a thermae, and roads show that it was a part of Roman Malta. Later, the Knights Hospitaller built towers and batteries, such as Wignacourt Tower and Arrias Battery, both of which stand today.

• Illustration — The Maltese centaury (Widnet il‑Baħar) has been the national plant since 1971. Malta contains 4.6 km2 of naturally regenerating forest, characterised by mature trees with a height of 2 to. The overall area occupied by trees is estimated to be 32 km2, which constitutes approximately 1.44% of the total land area of the archipelago. The most common indigenous tree species are the willow (Salix alba), poplar (Populus alba), olive (Olea europaea), carob (Ceratonia siliqua), oak (Quericus ilex & Quercus rotundifolia), Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), laurel (Laurus nobilis) and fig (Ficus carica), while the most common non-native trees are eucalyptus, acacia, date palm and opuntia. The Maltese islands are also home to a wide diversity of indigenous, sub-endemic and endemic plants. They feature many traits typical of a Mediterranean climate, such as drought resistance. Endemic plants include the national flower widnet il-baħar (Cheirolophus crassifolius), sempreviva ta' Malta (Helichrysum panormitanum subsp. melitense), żigland t' Għawdex (Hyoseris frutescens) and ġiżi ta' Malta (Matthiola incana subsp. melitensis) while sub-endemics include kromb il-baħar (Jacobaea maritima subsp. sicula) and xkattapietra (Micromeria microphylla). The biodiversity of Malta is severely endangered by habitat loss, invasive species, and human intervention.

• Illustration — Gardjola Tower at Senglea, built from limestone The Maltese archipelago is located on the African plate, on a shallow water continental platform. It lies about 200 km to the south of the subduction boundary between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The mainly sedimentary rocks also consist of a large amount of limestone, which has been used as a material for many buildings on the island.

• Illustration — The Parliament House in Valletta Malta is a republic whose parliamentary system and public administration are modelled on the Westminster system. The parliament is made up of the president and the House of Representatives (Kamra tad-Deputati). The House of Representatives has 65 members, elected for a five-year term in 13 five-seat electoral divisions, called distretti elettorali, with constitutional amendments that establish proportionality among seats and votes of political parliamentary groups. Members of the House of Representatives are elected by direct universal suffrage through single transferable vote every five years, unless the House is dissolved earlier by the president either on the advice of the prime minister or through a motion of no confidence. Malta had the second highest voter turnout in the world (and the highest for nations without mandatory voting), based on election turnout in national lower house elections from 1960 to 1995. The President of Malta is appointed for a five-year term by a simple majority of the House of Representatives. The current president, Myriam Spiteri Debono, was elected on 27 March 2024 President of the Republic by members of parliament. Maltese politics is a two-party system dominated by the Labour Party (Partit Laburista), a centre-left social democratic party, and the Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista), a centre-right Christian democratic party. The Labour Party has been the governing party since 2013, and is currently led by Prime Minister Robert Abela, who has been in office since 13 January 2020. According to Transparency International, Malta's clean governance record has decreased significantly as of 2013. The same association reported that Malta dropped to 65th place in a report published in February 2025. According to International IDEA's Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices and Democracy Tracker, Malta is in the mid to high range on overall democratic measures, with weaknesses in corruption and civic engagement.

• Illustration — Administrative divisions of Malta Malta has had a system of local government since 1993, according to the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The country is divided into six regions, with each region having its own council, which serves as the intermediate level between local government and national government. The regions are divided into local councils, of which there are currently 68. The six districts serve primarily statistical purposes. Each council is made up of councillors (from 5 to 13, depending on the population they represent). A mayor and a deputy mayor are elected from and by the councillors. The executive secretary, who is appointed by the council, is the head. Councillors are elected every four years through the single transferable vote. Due to system reforms, no elections were held before 2012. Since then, elections have been held every two years for an alternating half of the councils.

• Illustration — Maltese patrol ship at Hay Wharf, Floriana The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) have the stated objectives of trying to maintain a military organisation with the aim of defending Malta's integrity in an efficient manner. This is achieved by emphasising the maintenance of Malta's territorial waters and airspace integrity. The AFM engages in combating terrorism, fighting against illicit drug trafficking, immigrant operations, anti-illegal fishing operations, operating search and rescue (SAR) services, and surveillance of sensitive locations. Malta's search-and-rescue area extends from east of Tunisia to west of Crete, an area of around. In 2020, Malta signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Malta is regarded as one of the most LGBT-supportive countries in the world, and was the first nation in the European Union to prohibit conversion therapy. Malta also constitutionally bans discrimination based on disability. Maltese legislation recognises both civil and canonical (ecclesiastical) marriages. Annulments by the ecclesiastical and civil courts are unrelated and are not necessarily mutually endorsed. Malta voted in favour of divorce legislation in a referendum held on 28 May 2011. Abortion in Malta is illegal. It and Poland are the only European Union members with near-total bans on the procedure. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. On 21 November 2022, the government led by the Labour Party proposed a bill that "introduces a new clause into the country's criminal code allowing for the termination of a pregnancy if the mother's life is at risk or if her health is in serious jeopardy"; the bill passed in June 2023 with amendments restricting the exception to situations where the woman's life is at risk.

• Illustration — Central Bank of Malta, Pope Pius V Street in Valletta Malta is classified as an advanced economy by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Malta's major resources are limestone, a favourable geographic location, and a productive labour force. Malta produces only around 20 percent of its food needs, has limited fresh water supplies in the summer, and no domestic energy sources (though with solar power potential). The economy is dependent on foreign trade, manufacturing (especially electronics and textiles), and tourism. Film production has contributed to the Maltese economy. Access to biocapacity in Malta is below the world average. In 2024, Malta had 0.42 global hectares of biocapacity per person within its territory, contrasted with a global average of 1.6 hectare per person. Additionally, residents of Malta had a sizable biocapacity deficit. • Illustration — Malta is part of the Eurozone. In preparation for Malta's membership in the European Union in 2004, it privatised some state-controlled firms and liberalised markets. Malta has a financial regulator, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), with a business development mindset, and the country has been successful in attracting gaming businesses, aircraft and ship registration, credit-card issuing banking licences, and fund administration. Malta has made headway in implementing EU Financial Services Directives. In 2018, the National Developement and Social Fund gave Malta's budget 432million. Malta does not have a property tax, although it does still tax property transactions. Maltese real estate sales totalled over €320 million in May 2025. In 2024, Maltese nominal GDP per capita stood at €39,350, 9% higher than the EU average.

The two largest commercial banks are Bank of Valletta and HSBC Bank Malta. Digital banks such as Revolut have also increased in popularity. • Illustration — Front and back of the Maltese Scudo The Maltese government entered ERM II on 4 May 2005, and adopted the euro as the country's currency on 1 January 2008. Maltese euros feature the Maltese cross on €2 and €1 coins, the coat of arms of Malta on the €0.50, €0.20 and €0.10 coins, and the Mnajdra Temples on the €0.05, €0.02 and €0.01 coins. Malta has produced collectors' coins, which stopped being legal tender in 2010. Those coins continued a national practice of minting commemorative coins. From 1825 until the 2008 introduction of the Euro, the currency was the Maltese lira, also called the pound. Before that, a mix of foreign currencies were often used.

• Illustration — Mellieħa Bay beach Malta is a popular tourist destination, with 1.6 million tourists per year, three times more tourists visit than there are residents. In 2017, there were over 2.3 million tourists. The majority of the tourists were from Britain, Italy, Australia, and America. In recent years, Malta has advertised itself as a medical tourism destination, and a number of health tourism providers are developing the industry. However, no Maltese hospital has undergone independent international healthcare accreditation. Malta is popular with British medical tourists. Tourism in Malta contributes around 11.6 percent of the country's gross domestic product. The country's variety of landscapes and destinations has also become a significant draw for filmmakers. Films shot on the island include both Gladiator films, Gladiator and Gladiator II, and several episodes of the 1970s British spy drama The Sandbaggers.

Malta signed a co-operation agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) for more-intensive co-operation in ESA projects. The Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) is the civil body responsible for the development of science and technology on an educational and social level. Most science students in Malta graduate from the University of Malta and are represented by S-Cubed (Science Student's Society), UESA (University Engineering Students Association) and ICTSA (University of Malta ICT Students' Association). Malta was ranked 27th in the Global Innovation Index in 2025.

Due to British colonial rule, traffic in Malta drives on the left. Malta has a high level of motorisation. According to the National Statistics Office, the number of licensed motor vehicles per 1,000 residents was 778 in 2023. In early 2026, 38% of car sales were electric, as the country subsidises low-emissions transport. Malta has 3,096 km of road; as of 2021, 444 km were classified as other rural unpaved roads. • Illustration — Maltese Otokar and King Long buses Buses are a common method of public transport. Malta's vintage buses operated in the Maltese islands up to 2011 and became popular tourist attractions. The bus service underwent extensive reform in July 2011. The management structure changed from having self-employed drivers driving their own vehicles to a service being offered by a single company through a public tender. The public tender was won by Arriva Malta, which introduced a fleet of brand new buses, built by King Long especially for service by Arriva Malta and including a smaller fleet of articulated buses brought in from Arriva London. It also operated two smaller buses for an intra-Valletta route only and 61 nine-metre buses, which were used to ease congestion on high-density routes. Overall Arriva Malta operated 264 buses. On 1 January 2014 Arriva ceased operations in Malta due to financial difficulties, having been nationalised as Malta Public Transport. The government chose Autobuses Urbanos de León (Alsa subsidiary) as its preferred bus operator for the country in October 2014. From October 2022, the bus system is free of charge for residents of Malta. As of 2021, an underground Malta Metro is being planned, with a projected total cost of €6.2 billion. • Illustration — Malta Freeport, one of the largest European ports Malta International Airport (Ajruport Internazzjonali ta' Malta) is the only airport serving the Maltese islands. It is built on the land formerly occupied by the RAF Luqa air base. A heliport is located on Gozo. • Illustration — An Air Malta Airbus A320 From 1 April 1974 to 30 March 2024, the national airline was Air Malta, which was based at Malta International Airport and operated services to 35 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. On 31 March 2024, KM Malta Airlines took over as the national airline of Malta.

The mobile penetration rate in Malta exceeded 100% by the end of 2009, reaching 102.1%. Malta's mobile sector has used GSM, UMTS (3G), and LTE (4G) technologies. In early 2012, the government called for a national Fibre to the Home (FttH) network to be built.

Malta mainly relied on coal until 1995 for electricity generation. In 1992, a new power station was built on the Delimara peninsula in Marsaxlokk. Originally the Delimara Power Station in 2015 used oil for electricity generation, before being converted to LNG in 2017. The power station also includes two gasoil-fired plants, which are used as standby power generation capacity during emergencies or lack of other power sources. Since 2015, the Malta–Sicily interconnector allows Malta to be connected to the European power grid and import a significant share of its electricity. In 2024, Malta consumed 3106 GWh, of which 970 GWh was imported through the interconnector. Of Malta's electricity in 2023, 11% was from domestic renewable generation, almost all solar power. There are efforts to boost this renewable generation share to 25% by 2030 by building offshore wind farms and increasing battery storage. A waste-to-energy plant that runs off of biogas generated by organic waste is planned to contribute further to the electricity grid as a source of net carbon-neutral energy.

As of the 2025 census, Maltese-born natives make up the majority of the island with 574,348 people out of a total population of 588,254. All in all, 89.1% are Caucasian, 5.2% are Asian, 1.7% are from Arabia, 1.5% are African, 1.3% are Hispanic, and 1.2% identify as a mix between two or more of those. Since 2000, the shift in the age composition towards an older population continued. The median age of the Maltese population increased from 38.5 in 2005 to 40.5 in 2011. This resulted from the increase in the number of persons aged 55 and over, together with a decrease in the number of persons under 25 years of age. The average in Gozo and Comino (41.6 years) was higher than that observed for Malta. Persons aged 65 and over more represent 16.3% of the total population in 2011, compared to 13.7% in 2005. In contrast, persons aged 14 and under make up 14.8% of the population in 2011, compared to 17.2% in 2005. • Illustration — Valletta, Malta's capital The Maltese-resident population for 2004 was estimated to make up 97.0 percent of the total resident population. All censuses since 1842 have shown a slight excess of females over males. Population growth has slowed down, from +9.5 percent between the 1985 and 1995 censuses, to +6.9 percent between the 1995 and 2005 censuses (a yearly average of +0.7 percent). The birth rate stood at 3860 (a decrease of 21.8 percent from the 1995 census) and the death rate stood at 3025. Thus, there was a natural population increase of 835 (compared to +888 for 2004, of which over a hundred were foreign residents). In 2021, the population of the Maltese Islands stood at 519,562. The total fertility rate (TFR) As of 2016 was estimated at 1.45 children born/woman, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1. In 2012, 25.8 percent of births were to unmarried women. The life expectancy in 2018 was estimated at 83.

• Illustration — Il-Kantilena by Pietru Caxaro, the oldest text in the Maltese language The Maltese language (Malti) is one of the two constitutional languages of Malta and is considered the national language. The second official language is English and hence laws are enacted both in Maltese and English. However, article 74 of the Constitution states that "if there is any conflict between the Maltese and the English texts of any law, the Maltese text shall prevail." Many speakers of English use a local dialect, Maltese English. Maltese Sign Language is used in Malta. Maltese is a Semitic language descended from the now extinct Sicilian-Arabic (Siculo-Arabic) dialect (from southern Italy) that developed during the Emirate of Sicily. The Maltese alphabet consists of 30 letters based on the Latin alphabet. In 2022, Malta National Statistics Office states that 90 percent of the Maltese population has at least a basic knowledge of Maltese, 96 percent of English, 62 percent of Italian, and 20 percent of French. This widespread knowledge of second languages makes Malta one of the most multilingual countries in the European Union. A study collecting public opinion on what language was "preferred" discovered that 86 percent of the population preferred Maltese, 12 percent English, and 2 percent Italian. Italian television channels from Italy-based broadcasters, such as Mediaset and RAI, reach Malta and remain popular.

The predominant religion in Malta is Catholicism. The second article of the Constitution of Malta establishes Catholicism as the state religion and it is also reflected in various elements of Maltese culture, although there are entrenched provisions for the freedom of religion. Malta is an Apostolic See; the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 28) tells of how St. Paul was shipwrecked on the island of "Melite", which many Biblical scholars identify with Malta, an episode dated around AD 60. Saint Publius is said to have been made Malta's first bishop. There exists a considerable minority of Orthodox Christians in Malta, of which there are 16,457, according to the 2021 census; the number may include both Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians. There are a small number of parishes belonging to each autocephalous Church, typically one for each. There are Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, and Bulgarian Orthodox parishes located around Malta, mainly in Valletta. Most congregants of the local Protestant churches are not Maltese; their congregations mainly draw on vacationers and British retirees living in the country. There are also a Seventh-day Adventist church in Birkirkara, and a New Apostolic Church congregation founded in 1983 in Gwardamangia. There are approximately 600 Jehovah's Witnesses. Latter-day Saints is also represented with 241 members in one congregation in Mosta. • Illustration — The Beheading of Saint John, by Caravaggio. Oil on canvas, 361 x. Oratory of the Co-Cathedral. The Jewish population of Malta reached its peak in the Middle Ages under Norman rule. In 1479, Malta and Sicily came under Aragonese rule and the Alhambra Decree of 1492 forced all Jews to leave the country. Today, there are two Jewish congregations. The 2021 census recorded 17,454 Muslims, of which 1,746 were Maltese citizens. Zen Buddhism and the Baháʼí Faith claim some 40 members. In a survey held by Malta Today, the overwhelming majority of the Maltese population adheres to Christianity (95.2%) with Catholicism as the main denomination (93.9%); 4.5% of the population declared themselves either atheist or agnostic, one of the lowest figures in Europe. According to a 2019 Eurobarometer survey, 83% of the population identified as Catholic. The number of atheists has doubled from 2014 to 2018. The 2015 edition of the annual Freedom of Thought Report from the International Humanist and Ethical Union, asserted Malta was in the category of "severe discrimination", alongside seven other EU countries. In 2016, following the abolishment of blasphemy law, Malta was shifted to the category of "systematic discrimination" (same as most EU countries).

• Foreign population in Malta • Year — Population — % total • 2005 — 12,112 — 3.0% • 2011 — 20,289 — 4.9% • 2019 — 98,918 — 21.0% • 2020 — 119,261 — 23.17% Historically a land of emigration, since the early 21st century Malta has seen a significant increase in net migration; the foreign-born population has grown nearly eightfold between 2005 and 2020. Most of the foreign community in Malta consists of active or retired British nationals and their dependents, centred on Sliema and surrounding suburbs. Other smaller foreign groups include Italians, Libyans, and Serbians, many of whom have assimilated into the Maltese nation over the decades. Since the late 20th century, Malta has become a transit country for migration routes from Africa towards Europe. As a member of the European Union and the Schengen Agreement, Malta is bound by the Dublin Regulation to process all claims for asylum by those asylum seekers that enter EU territory for the first time in Malta. However, irregular migrants who land in Malta are subject to a compulsory detention policy, being held in several camps organised by the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM), including those near Ħal Far and Ħal Safi. The compulsory detention policy has been denounced by several NGOs, and in July 2010, the European Court of Human Rights found that Malta's detention of migrants was arbitrary, lacking in adequate procedures to challenge detention, and in breach of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. On 8 September 2020, Amnesty International criticised Malta for "illegal tactics" in the Mediterranean, against immigrants who were attempting to cross from North Africa. The reports claimed that the government's approach might have led to avoidable deaths. In January 2014, Malta started granting citizenship for a €650,000 contribution plus investments, contingent on residence and criminal background checks. This "golden passport" citizenship scheme has been criticized as a fraud. Concerns as to whether the Maltese citizenship scheme is allowing an influx of such individuals into the greater European Union have been raised by both the public as well as the European Council on multiple occasions. On 29 April 2025, the European Court of Justice ruled that Malta may no longer sell citizenship through its 'golden passports' scheme. • Illustration — Child Migrants' Memorial at the Valletta Waterfront, commemorating the 310 child migrants who travelled to Australia between 1950 and 1965 In the 19th century, most emigration from Malta was to North Africa and the Middle East, although rates of return migration to Malta were high. In the 20th century, most emigrants went to destinations in the New World, particularly to Australia, Canada, and the United States. Post World War II, Malta's Emigration Department would assist emigrants with the cost of their travel. Between 1948 and 1967, 30 percent of the population emigrated. Between 1946 and the late-1970s, over 140,000 people left Malta on the assisted passage scheme, with 57.6% migrating to Australia, 22% to the UK, 13% to Canada and 7% to the United States. As of 2026, around 18,000 people leave emigrate from Malta each year (and around 31,000 people immigrate).

• Illustration — National Library in Valletta Primary schooling has been compulsory since 1946; secondary education up to the age of sixteen was made compulsory in 1971. The state and the Catholic Church provide education free of charge, both running a number of schools in Malta and Gozo. As of 2006, state schools are organised into networks known as Colleges and incorporate kindergarten schools, primary and secondary schools. A number of private schools are run in Malta. St. Catherine's High School, Pembroke offers an International Foundation Course for students wishing to learn English before entering mainstream education. As of 2008, there are two international schools, Verdala International School and QSI Malta. The state pays a portion of the teachers' salary in Church schools. Primary school lasts six years in Malta. Pupils sit for SEC O-level examinations at the age of 16. Pupils may opt to continue studying at a sixth form college for two years. Maltese and English are both used to teach pupils at the primary and secondary school level, and both languages are also compulsory subjects. Public schools tend to use both Maltese and English in a balanced manner. Private schools prefer to use English for teaching, as is also the case with most departments of the University of Malta; this has a limiting effect on the capacity and development of the Maltese language. Most university courses are in English. The adult literacy rate is 99.5 percent. Of the total number of pupils studying a first foreign language at secondary level, 51 percent take Italian whilst 38 percent take French. Other choices include German, Russian, Spanish, Latin, Chinese and Arabic. Malta is also a popular destination to study the English language, attracting over 83,000 students in 2019.

• Illustration — Mater Dei Hospital Malta has both a public healthcare system, where healthcare is free at the point of delivery, and a private healthcare system. Malta has a strong general practitioner-delivered primary care base and the public hospitals provide secondary and tertiary care. The Maltese Ministry of Health advises foreign residents to take out private medical insurance.

• Illustration — St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina built in the Baroque style

A 2010 Charities Aid Foundation study found that the Maltese were the most generous people in the world, with 83% contributing to charity. Maltese folktales include various stories about mysterious creatures and supernatural events. These were most comprehensively compiled by the scholar (and pioneer in Maltese archaeology) Manwel Magri in his core criticism "Ħrejjef Missirijietna" ("Fables from our Forefathers"). This collection of material inspired subsequent researchers and academics to gather traditional tales, fables and legends from all over the Archipelago.

• Illustration — The statue of St. George at the festa of Victoria, Gozo Local festivals, similar to those in Southern Italy, are commonplace in Malta and Gozo, celebrating weddings, christenings and, most prominently, saints' days. The largest festa is possibly that of the Assumption of Mary, which is celebrated in 8 parishes on 15 August and in 2 other parishes the following Sunday. Carnival (Maltese: il-karnival ta' Malta) has had an important place on the cultural calendar. It is held during the week leading up to Ash Wednesday, and typically includes masked balls, fancy dress and grotesque mask competitions, lavish late-night parties, a colourful ticker-tape parade of allegorical floats presided over by King Carnival (Maltese: ir-Re tal-Karnival), marching bands and costumed revellers. • Illustration — Maltese Carnival has been celebrated since the 1400s. Rural Malta shares in common with the Mediterranean society a number of superstitions regarding fertility, menstruation, and pregnancy, including the avoidance of cemeteries leading up to childbirth, and avoiding the preparation of certain foods during menses. Pregnant women are encouraged to satisfy their food cravings, out of fear that their unborn child will bear a representational birth mark (Maltese: xewqa, literally "desire" or "craving"). Maltese and Sicilian folk tradition includes beliefs thought to predict the sex of an unborn child, such as using the moon cycle, the way the baby is carried, or the motion of a ring suspended over the abdomen. Traditionally, Maltese newborns were baptised as soon as possible. At baptismal feasts, traditional sweets and liqueurs associated with the occasion included biskuttini tal-magħmudija, torta tal-marmorata, and rożolin. Traditional Maltese weddings included a bridal procession from the bride's home to the parish church, often accompanied by singers performing il-ġilwa beneath a decorated canopy. Historically, Maltese women wore the għonnella, a traditional form of dress.

Near the end of the 15th century, Maltese artists, like their counterparts in Sicily, came under the influence of Antonello da Messina, introducing Renaissance concepts to decorative arts in Malta. • Illustration — The Siege of Malta – Flight of the Turks, by Matteo Perez d'Aleccio The artistic heritage of Malta grew under the Knights Hospitaller, who brought Italian and Flemish Mannerist painters to decorate palaces and the churches of the islands. For many years, Mannerism continued to inform the tastes and ideals of local Maltese artists. The arrival in Malta of Caravaggio, who painted at least seven works during his 15-month stay on these islands, further revolutionised local art. Two of Caravaggio's most notable works, The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome Writing, are on display in the Conventual Church of St. John, though the Baroque movement that followed had the most enduring impact on Maltese art and architecture. The vault paintings of the Calabrese artist Mattia Preti transformed the Conventual Church St. John into a Baroque style. Melchior Gafà emerged as one of the top Baroque sculptors of the Roman School. • Illustration — Francesco Noletti's Still Life of Pomegranates, Peaches and other Fruits During the 17th and 18th centuries, Neapolitan and Rococo influences emerged in the works of the Italian painters Luca Giordano and Francesco Solimena, and these developments can be seen in the work of their Maltese contemporaries such as Gio Nicola Buhagiar and Francesco Zahra. The Rococo movement was greatly enhanced by the relocation to Malta of Antoine de Favray, who assumed the position of court painter to Grand Master Pinto in 1744. Parliament established the National School of Art in the 1920s. During the reconstruction period that followed World War II, the emergence of the "Modern Art Group", whose members included Josef Kalleya, George Preca, Anton Inglott, Emvin Cremona, Frank Portelli, Antoine Camilleri, Gabriel Caruana and Esprit Barthet greatly enhanced the local art scene. This group came together forming an influential pressure group known as the Modern Art Group, which played a leading role in the renewal of Maltese art. Most of Malta's modern artists have in fact studied in art institutions in England, or on the continent, leading to a diversity of artistic expression that has remained characteristic of contemporary Maltese art. In Valletta, the National Museum of Fine Arts featured work from artists such as H. Craig Hanna. In 2018 the national collection of fine arts was put on display in the new National Museum of Art, MUŻA, at Auberge d'Italie in Valletta.

While Maltese music today is largely Western, traditional Maltese music includes what is known as għana. This sometimes consists of background folk guitar music, while a few people, generally men, take it in turns to argue a point in a sing-song voice. Malta has organised a festival yearly since 1960.

• Illustration — Pastizzi are typical Maltese pastries Maltese cuisine has strong Sicilian and Italian influences as well as influences of English, Spanish, Maghrebin and Provençal cuisines. Food has been important historically in the development of a national identity, in particular the traditional fenkata (i.e., the eating of stewed or fried rabbit). Potatoes are also Maltese staples. A number of grapes are common in Malta, including Girgentina and Ġellewża. There is a large wine industry, with significant production of wines using these native grapes. A number of wines have achieved Protected Designation of Origin, with wines produced from grapes cultivated in Malta and Gozo designated as "DOK" wines (Denominazzjoni ta' l-Oriġini Kontrollata). Although beer is not a popular beverage in Malta, there is a common one called Cisk.

• Illustration — Clay pigeon shooting contest Football is one of the most popular sports in Malta. Other popular sports include boċċi, horse racing, gostra, regatta, water polo, clay pigeon shooting, and motorsports. In 2018, Malta hosted its first Esports tournament, 'Supernova CS:GO Malta', a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament, and became the primary location for hosting the ESL Pro League.

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